Moose on the loose prompts road closure in Ontario city

Thursday, November 16, 2017, 4:26 PM - A wandering moose forced the closure of the waterfront in North Bay, Ontario on Wednesday.

Residents were asked by officials to avoid Memorial Drive as the animal was spotted swimming in the cold waters of Lake Nippissing.

Mike Burman was on his way to work around 9 a.m. Wednesday when he heard about the curious animal on the radio.

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"I decided to pass the office to go down and have a look," the North Bay resident told The Weather Network. "Sure enough, there was a young bull moose probably about 40 to 50 feet off the shoreline and it was just standing there."

He joined about 50 other people who were crowded around observing the animal. 

"I think it was possibly confused where it was," said Burman. "I'm an avid hunter, so I know how they kind of react. I'm not sure if it came out of the woods, north, where there is crown land."

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry were contacted to help the moose and prevent interaction with the public.

According to local reports, the animal appeared to be anxious.

The moose finally made its way out of the water and into the woods around 5:20 p.m. local time, CBC reports.

"I've lived here pretty much my entire life and I've never seen a moose in Lake Nippissing along the shoreline of North Bay," said Burman. "They wander in, but not very often into the dense part of North Bay, more on the outskirts."

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SOURCE: CBC