CHEYENNE - Three moose that showed up on the golf course at the Little America Hotel on the west edge of Cheyenne were relocated to the Snowy Range Mountains June 28 by Wyoming Game and Fish Department personnel.

The moose, two young males and a female, were first spotted by a Little America employee early yesterday morning. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department was notified and arrived on the scene to find all three moose in a small grove of trees on the golf course adjacent to the Sinclair gas station and the on-ramp to Interstate 80. Little America employees closed down two holes on the course for the safety of the golfers and to avoid frightening the moose onto nearby highways and railroad tracks.

A crowd gathered to watch as game wardens Jon Stephens and Kelly Todd tranquilized all three moose and loaded them into a horse trailer bound for the Snowy Range, in the Fox Park area, where they were released unharmed.

The moose likely wandered into Cheyenne either from the Pole Mountain area west of the city or from somewhere in the Snowy Range west of Laramie. Moose populations in the Pole Mountain and Snowy Range have been increasing.

"We decided to release them in the Snowy Range location because there is a larger amount of favorable habitat there than at Pole Mountain, and they would be less likely to get in this kind of a situation again," Stephens said.

"This was a potentially dangerous situation," said Eric Keszler, public information officer for the Game and Fish. "We were concerned about the safety of the moose and the safety of the public. Moose, though they can appear docile, can be aggressive towards people. In this situation there were lots of people around, including golfers and others who were just curious. Fortunately, we were able to resolve the situation without injury to any people or to the moose."
(contact: Eric Keszler (307) 777-4594, photos available)