MADAWASKA, Maine — Like a lot of people with a pool, Kurt and Louise Wickenheiser are used to welcoming swimmers to cool off during the summer. Most are more than welcome.
They do, however, draw the line at those with antlers. Especially those of the pool-draining variety.
These days the retired couple’s inflatable pool is surrounded by a Rube Goldberg-inspired array of moose deterrents after one of the critters has drained more than a thousand gallons from the above-ground pool.
“It’s really kind of a riot,” Kurt Wickenheiser said. “I had the pool filled four weeks ago, and it takes about 6,000 gallons of water. It was kind of cold, so we did not use it right off and had the little ‘floaties’ filled with chlorine in the pool doing their thing.”
“I went out to look and saw the moose tracks,” he said. “Some moose decided to stop by, lean into the pool and get some water while a bunch of water flooded out.”
Wickenheiser re-filled his pool but several days ago he looked out and the level was again down hundreds of gallons and the floaties high and dry near the garden.
“It was that same damn moose,” he said with a laugh. “It looks like he’s coming out of the woods, walking alongside the house, stopping for a drink and continuing on.”
The County is pleased to feature content from our sister company, Bangor Daily News. To read the rest of “Moose keeps stealing water from Madawaska couple’s pool,” an article by contributing Bangor Daily News staff writer Julia Bayly, please follow this link to the BDN online.
