A Moose Is Hanging Around Ontario's Highway 417 & Police Are Telling People Not To Stop
Is that Elliot Moose on the loose?
The moose near Highway 417.
In some truly Canadian news, Ontario Provincial Police warned drivers about a moose chilling near Highway 417.
On April 5, OPP's North East Region shared on Facebook that their Nipissing West and Manitoulin detachments were getting a lot of calls about a moose hanging out near Nairn Centre off the major provincial highway.
According to police, drivers were stopping their vehicles either on or nearby the highway to snap a pic or take a video of the wild animal.
Some even tried to feed the moose with apples, police said.
"These are large, unpredictable wild animals and can create a dangerous condition if they approach motor vehicles on the highway, causing a traffic hazard and a public safety concern," police said in the post.
Ontario police then reminded drivers to avoid stopping for these animals when they're on the side of the highway.
There are some things you can do when you see a wild moose on the road to avoid getting injured in a wildlife collision, according to the Canadian Automobile Association.
While CAA says drivers should typically resist the urge to swerve around an animal that's roaming on the road, a moose might be an exception.
"A direct blow could take out its knees and send it crashing through your windshield," CAA says.
Steve Brown, a research associate at the Traffic Injury Research Foundation, told CAA that drivers "should consider aiming for the animal's hindquarters, striking it [at] an angle."
Narcity reached out to the OPP for additional information but didn't hear back before this article was published.