OSBURN — The Idaho Department of Fish and Game recently put down a young moose that had taken up residency last month.

The young animal wandered into town in the middle of February and stuck around as people began giving it food and shelter.

This sparked debates on social media. Many argued it was cruel to allow a young animal to go hungry in the cold. Others said it was best to leave it alone.

Once IDFG got involved, it was clear it would not be able to relocate the moose because it was too young and would have a hard time surviving on its own. It wasn't known what happened to its mom.

TJ Ross, spokesperson for IDFG’s Panhandle Region, said his office fields numerous calls about moose.

“Folks in the Panhandle are very accustomed to deer and turkeys in town, so we rarely hear about them unless one is injured,” Ross said. “We typically only receive calls when it is some less common species, such as moose, mountain lion or black bear.”  

When these calls come in, IDFG advises people to give the animal space, never feed or touch it and allow it to return to the wild.  

When this strategy doesn’t work, IDFG gets involved, and the results can vary from tranquilization and relocation to euthanization. 

“Wild animals are wild, and they need to remain that way,” Ross said. “Anytime people feed animals, the animals can become habituated to humans. Animals that are habituated to humans lose their fear of humans and can respond to humans in unexpected and dangerous ways. In addition, feeding animals can congregate them, which can lead to issues with diseases spreading and with attracting unwanted predators.”