A moose invasion

Another one of those "Only in Spokane" stories as a moose calf crashed into a couple's basement bedroom and had to be tranquilized and removed.

A north Spokane couple that’s expecting a baby got an early arrival Thursday evening when a moose calf dropped into a bedroom through a basement window.

Tony Mantese reported the moose-entry incident around 4:30 p.m. from his home on Stevens Street just north of Francis Avenue. The moose apparently had been taking advantage of the shallower snow around the neighborhood buildings when it fell into a deep window well. As is struggled to get out and rejoin its mother and sibling, it kicked through the window and fell into the house.

“I got the call around 6 p.m. that there was a moose in somebody’s basement,” said Woody Myers, a Washington Fish and Wildlife Department biologist trained to tranquilize big-game animals. “I said ‘You’re kidding’ and the officer quite sternly said, ‘No I’m not.’ ”

Myers, a 32-year veteran with the wildlife agency, is the region’s go-to-man for tranquilizing moose and other big game. He said this is a first.

The article also said that tough winters like the one Spokane is currently having is causing wildlife to go places that they would not normally go. Six elk were also killed a little while back when the hay barn they were taking refuge in collapsed due to the weight of snow.

In other words, expect company from the animal kingdom for dinner.