Moose left stranded and starving by New Brunswick flood

Humans aren't the only species suffering through New Brunswick's unprecedented flooding.

Moose throughout the St. John River Valley are stranded andstarving on what little dry land they can find as floodwaters remain high.

Two young moose are stuckon a Trans-Canada highway bridge inJemseg.

Perhaps exhausted from escapingthe floods, they have been lying on the bridge for days without food.

"They're pretty weak right now," said Billy Wagstaff, aprovincialforest ranger who has beenmonitoringtheanimals.

"They've been laying here for a couple of days and they can't really get any feed because they can't get down to browse. There's too much water down there. And they've got no dry ground."

Moose in neighbouring Sheffield have taken to sharing a scrap of land with a family home cut off by flooding.

Three animals have been hugging the sides of Anne Bridges's house, which issurrounded by water.

"Poor things," Bridges said. "They don't have much land. There's nothing much around for them here at all."

Bridges said the bull, cow, andjuvenileanimals were standing in knee-high water for days.

"They're just looking for anything," she said. "I'vegot mapletrees here and bushes. And they're just looking for things to eat, I guess."

Bridges, who can onlyleave her own home by boat, said the three moose have ventured away from thehouse buthave returned several times.

Highway herding

Another stranded moose was able to be herdedacrossthe highwaybridgetodry forest a few days ago, according to Wagstaff.

But he worries thetwo remaining moose lack the energy tostand for long periods of time. They would have to be led for about three kilometresover a concretebridge and highway pavement before they could reach thesafetyof the woods.

"We tried yesterday," Wagstaffsaid. "But they wouldn't go anywhere. They just walked along real, real slow and laid right down in front of me."

"Normally, they'll trot along in front of you."

Last week, the two moose could be seenstanding in shallow water, but as the river rose, the animals took to the only dry ground left in the area therecently closed Trans-Canada Highway.

Roadway refuge

The Trans-CanadabetweenFredericton and Moncton has been closed since last Thursday night. High water broughtmassive amounts of driftwood and debris, whichis beingcleaned up as the water recedes.

The moose have until the highway reopens to move or be moved before conservation officers go to the last resort, which would be to destroy the animals.

"Nobody wants that," Wagstaff said.

Other options

Wagstaff said it will most likely be a few days before floodwaters go down enough for crews to clean up debris. That would give the stranded moose time.

"It is an option to try and get some bushes down here and try and feed them, but it probably won't go so well," said Wagstaff, who has been a ranger for 20 years.

"It's hard to feed them. Moose like to browse. They're not feed eaters.

"We could try and tranquillize them, but as they're so weak they could end up dying from that anyway."