Local ecologist says the pair were spotted close together in a forest south of Victoria Harbour after days of separate sightings — but Hwy. 12 remains a major obstacle
After days of wandering separately through Victoria Harbour, a cow moose and her calf appear to have found each other again — and may finally be making their way toward more suitable habitat.
Local resident Mike Francis, who owns Aster Environmental Services Ltd. and serves as a watershed ecologist with the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority, said the two animals were spotted in close proximity in a forested area south of Victoria Harbour on Monday.
Francis didn’t witness the pair together himself, but said a neighbour saw both animals around the same time after the cow turned up at another nearby property.
“Our neighbours had the mother, the cow, in their field, in their pasture, where they have a couple of horses and a donkey,” Francis said.
The unexpected visitor apparently caused some commotion, including damage to fencing, as the property owners attempted to encourage her toward the forest.
Francis alerted another neighbour, who was out cutting wood with a chainsaw on a forested property bordering his own. The neighbour wasn’t following the sightings on social media and had no idea about the concern surrounding the separated cow and calf.
“I said, ‘Hey, just so you know, there’s a big stressed cow moose — maybe have your wits about you.’”
The neighbour later found himself staring “face to face” with the cow and sent Francis photographs.
Knowing about the widely followed search for the separated calf, Francis told his neighbour to keep an eye out for the younger moose as well.
Later that day, the neighbour reported seeing the cow bedded down near the forest edge and the calf nearby along a former rail corridor.
“He said he’d seen both of them in fairly close proximity around the same time,” Francis said. “So I assume that they’ve reunited, or at the very least are sharing the same small patch of forest.”
The apparent reunion comes after the animals generated considerable attention in Victoria Harbour, with residents reporting sightings along Robins Point Road, Park Street, Albert Street and other areas.
The Ministry of Natural Resources previously confirmed it was aware of two moose in and around Victoria Harbour and urged residents not to approach, follow or feed them.
Where are they going?
Francis said moose occasionally pass through the area, but Victoria Harbour and its surroundings aren’t particularly well suited to sustaining them over the long term.
“We don’t see a lot of moose here,” he said. “It’s really not a great area for them. It doesn’t necessarily offer what they need from a habitat perspective.”
Francis owns about 60 acres of forest near Highway 12 and Gervais Road and said a hydro corridor running through the property could act as a dispersal route for the animals.
He suspects the pair will eventually try to move toward better habitat farther north or east.
Moose favour areas with extensive forest and wetlands containing aquatic vegetation, he said. Habitat becomes more suitable toward the Canadian Shield and areas around north Severn Township, where wetlands and forest cover become more extensive.
“You just get so much more plentiful, good-quality wetlands with vegetation that they can feed on and more extensive forest cover,” Francis said. “That’s really the name of the game.”
“I would imagine, if they can, they’ll try to make it further north,” he said. “Hopefully they can safely cross the highway, which obviously represents a huge barrier for their dispersal.”
For now, Francis hopes people will allow the cow and calf to choose that route for themselves.
The MNR has urged residents to give the animals plenty of space to leave populated areas on their own and warned against approaching them for photographs or social media.
After several days in the spotlight, a little peace and quiet may be exactly what Victoria Harbour’s most talked-about visitors need.