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Close encounter: Moose still roaming through Billings

Moose Alliance Resource Center.jpg
Posted at 9:15 AM, Oct 14, 2022
and last updated 2022-10-14 11:15:11-04

BILLINGS - The moose remains loose.

It's now been four days since a bull moose was first spotted in the heart of Billings and he does not seem to be in a hurry to leave.

There have been numerous sightings and run-ins with the big beast since Monday.

But for the first time we are seeing surveillance video from a local non-profit near Grand Avenue that shows the moose charging past a man sitting on a bench.

On Monday the moose was right around the Alliance Resource Center in the area of 15th Street West and Avenue D.

The irrigation ditch is about four to five blocks north and that's where the moose has camped out.

A man was sitting right on the bench and the moose went right between him and a nearby post.

Security video at the Alliance Resource Center shows the moose at around 4 p.m. Monday.

"We had no idea we'd had a visitor on Monday," said Sue Bailey, the center's director. "We actually had two. One was a nice gentleman sitting on our bench enjoying that beautiful day that we had Monday. The other was probably a young moose."

Workers came back on Tuesday after the holiday and spotted some blood before seeing the video.

"Our building manager was going to check and clean it up," Bailey said. "And led him to be curious and he checked our security footage out."

Bailey said it appears the moose came down 15th Street West and made a right turn and headed down Avenue D.

"Comes up between these trees, kind of does a roundabout here, a loop," Bailey said. "He looked around this way and then he went right through that space with the bench and the light post. He fit right through there and continued down the sidewalk we think until about halfway through the parking lot, headed out that way, went right past our bus and down the sidewalk."

And they do not recognize the man in the video but say it was shocking to see the close encounter.

"I think he might have even gotten brushed by the moose," Bailey said.

Bailey has looked at the surveillance footage and believes the moose has just a minor cut or scrape.

"He was trotting pretty well," she said. "He didn't look like he had a limp or anything like that. So we think he was probably alright. He probably scratched himself on a fence or a bush or something in his travels."

"It was kind of exciting to see it. It'll probably be at the top of the dining room tomorrow. But you know, it's always fun to live in Montana. You never know what you're going to see."