April 16--HARTLAND -- Over the weekend, water stopped flowing into a Hartland family's home on Old Town Road. On Monday, a plumber was summoned to check the well.
"He came out, went out back to check it and got the shock of his life," Jennifer Abalan, Hartland's animal control officer, said Tuesday.
Abalan got a call from the homeowner saying, "There's something twice the size of a dog in my well. Can you come over?"
Abalan, who wasn't far away, and headed over. "I got over there and I said holy moly," she said. "To me it looks like a moose."
The moose was the cause of the water problem and probably had fallen through wood that covered the top of the open well structure. It may have been in there for a day and a half.
"Apparently he went to walk across the top of the well, the boards were rotten and it fell through," Abalan said.
A rescue effort began Monday afternoon, with the goal of getting the year-and-a-half old, 450-pound moose out and letting it go on its way.
Abalan called town hall and a public works crew with a front-loader and straps was dispatched. Abalan also contacted the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, which sent Environmental Conservation police officers and a wildlife biologist to the scene. Several off-duty state troopers who live in town also arrived to lend a hand.
About 5:15 p.m. the conservation police tranquilized the moose, then straps were placed around the animal and it was lifted from the well, Abalan said.
"We pulled him out and laid him down," Abalan said.
The initial thinking was that the tranquilizer would wear off and by 9 p.m. the moose would head off into the woods.
The rescuers left, but Abalan and one of the state troopers stayed close by to check on the moose. As the hours went by, the moose was not getting any better.
The rescuers had noticed thousand and thousands of engorged ticks on the moose, which may have weakened it. Tick infestation of moose is a problem DEEP is beginning to see in Connecticut, agency spokesman Dennis Schain said. It's a common problem in northern New England, where there are larger moose populations.
The impact of ticks on Connecticut's moose population is not yet clear, said Andrew LaBonte, a DEEP wildlife biologist. Only about 100 moose are believed to be in Connecticut, the southern extent of their habitat, he said. The ticks cause anemia, infections, hair loss and other health issues, Schain said.
About 8:30 p.m. Monday, Abalan said she noticed that the moose was getting weaker. "He was less responsive than he was prior and his breathing was very labored," she said.
Coyotes were yipping nearby and Abalan said she was horrified by the prospect of leaving the dying moose to the coyotes and other wildlife.
"I got a little emotional," she said. "I like nature to take its course, but I couldn't go to sleep knowing he's laying there on the ground and the coyotes would come and have a field day while he's dying."
She and the trooper contacted DEEP and talked the matter over. The decision was made that it would be best for the trooper to dispatch the moose, which he did about 9:30 p.m.
Tuesday morning, Abalan said she and her boss, First Selectman Wade Cole, returned to the well with a loader. The moose was removed to an animal cemetery at the town garage and buried.
"We have a very good bunch of people in Hartland," Abalan said of those who worked to save the moose. "People pull together and try to do what needs to be done."
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