This week, as the shorebird counters at the Johnson’s Mills interpretive centre were going about their business, they noticed a moose who had wandered down onto the mudflats.
“It’s uncommon for us to have moose in that area,” says Andrew Holland , National Media Relations Director for the Nature Conservancy of Canada, who run the centre. “It was an unusual situation for sure. And unfortunate, really.”
“This animal was certainly unwell and was acting erratically,” says Holland, and centre staff contacted the department of natural resources.
“They had to come down on site and basically euthanize the animal because of suspected brain worm,” says Holland. Brainworm is a parasitic disease that has had a negative impact on mainland moose in Nova Scotia, says Holland, “but it’s not uncommon here in New Brunswick as well.”
The Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development confirmed via email that “a yearling moose was euthanized at Johnson’s Mills on August 19.”
Spokesperson Nick Brown says the department received a call about “a moose that had been lingering near the shoreline in a fairly remote area for about a week.”
Department staff found the moose was very emaciated, lethargic, and could be closely approached. He says that due to its apparent suffering, the animal was euthanized.
According to Brown, one possible cause is the parasite brainworm, which causes abnormal behavior and eventual death of moose.
He says brainworm is found throughout New Brunswick, and elsewhere in the northeast, and tends to be more common in areas where moose and deer population coexist.
