Idaho Fish and Game put the moose who visited Porter Park in Rexburg during the Easter egg hunt into a trailer. The female moose was later released into a less populated place.

This female moose decided to join the Easter egg hunt at Porter Park Saturday.

Children are shown here waiting inside the Porter Park carousel as Idaho Fish and Game workers and Rexburg police helped guide a wandering moose out of Porter Park.

This female moose visited Porter Park on Saturday right before the annual Chamber of Commerce Easter egg hunt started. Rexburg Police spotted the animal around 8:30 a.m. Saturday.

Idaho Fish and Game workers are shown here trying to lift a female moose from a basement’s foundation on Saturday.

Idaho Fish and Game put the moose who visited Porter Park in Rexburg during the Easter egg hunt into a trailer. The female moose was later released into a less populated place.

This female moose decided to join the Easter egg hunt at Porter Park Saturday.

Children are shown here waiting inside the Porter Park carousel as Idaho Fish and Game workers and Rexburg police helped guide a wandering moose out of Porter Park.

This female moose visited Porter Park on Saturday right before the annual Chamber of Commerce Easter egg hunt started. Rexburg Police spotted the animal around 8:30 a.m. Saturday.

Idaho Fish and Game workers are shown here trying to lift a female moose from a basement’s foundation on Saturday.

Instead of getting a rabbit, Rexburg children got a moose for Easter.

They did so during the annual Rexburg Chamber of Commerce’s Easter egg hunt Saturday at Porter Park.

“The kids got a new experience. Instead of chocolate bunnies, they got a chocolate moose,” said new Rexburg Chamber of Commerce President Janalynn Holt.

Police spotted the female moose around 8:30 a.m. at the park, and just 30 minutes before children were to run through the park searching for Easter eggs.

Later, Holt arrived at Porter Park Saturday morning, and noticed several police officers. Holt initially thought they were just getting ready for the Easter egg hunt.

“The police said ‘We have a moose over there in trees. Make sure everybody keeps a safe distance,” she said.

Idaho Fish and Game Upper Snake Regional Communications Manager Jim Bower said he got a call from Rexburg Police shortly after officers spotted the moose.

“We had a little bit of excitement at Porter Park this (Saturday) morning,” he said. “The moose was lounging right around the playground. It was kind of resting,”

Rexburg police and Fish & Game officers managed to coax the moose away from the park. From there, the moose wandered into a yard where officers tranquilized the animal. The moose then managed to wander into another yard where it then fell into a basement foundation.

“Sometimes after we get them darted, they’re always trying to move. They end up in some weird spots sometimes,” Bower said.

The tranquilizer didn’t cause the moose to fall asleep, but instead prevented it from moving its legs.

“They’re wide awake and just unable to move. They can still breathe. Their muscles still function, but their larger muscle groups shut down,” he said.

Once the tranquilizer set in, Idaho Fish and Game workers slid a tarp under the moose and later used a winch to load the animal into a moose moving trailer.

“We had quite a few people (officers) down in that hole. They tied the winch to the tarp and hoisted her out. The winch was helpful, but we used a lot of manpower too,” Bower said.

Bower said that having a moose crash an Easter egg hunt was a first for him.

“Last year, we had one that showed up at the fireworks 4th of July celebration in Idaho Falls,” he said. “Moose wander into town frequently and do end up in a park.”

Moose follow river corridors and are found along the Snake and Teton Rivers, Bower said.

“This is where they want to be. Who knows why?” he said. “They’re finding shrubs and trees. They like to nibble on that, and that will take them through yards. The path of least resistance is a road, and, especially at night, when there’s not a lot of traffic. They end up where they don’t need to be.”

While the Idaho Fish and Game officers loaded the moose into the trailer, families waiting to hunt for Easter eggs watched from a safe distance, Holt said.

“Once more and more people came, we put everybody into the carousel. There was never any danger,” she said.

Rexburg mom, Joni Brammer, and her 11-year-old daughter, Samantha, went early to Porter Park to help disperse Easter eggs.

“When (Samantha) got out of the car, she said, ‘Mom, look, there’s a moose next to the playground.’” Brammer said.

As other families arrived, they were shocked to see the moose at the park, Brammer said.

“Kids were intrigued — as was the moose,” she said. “As families gathered in and near the carousel, the moose stayed calm while watching the crowd form. Such a good moose.”

Holt estimated that around 1,000 people met for the Easter egg hunt. The weather was nearly perfect, and, with ICCU’s van playing music, it combined to make for a fun environment, she said.

“It had great energy,” she said. “I was so impressed with how many little kids came up and said, ‘thank you.’”

Holt said that the visit from the moose was the last thing on her mind for Saturday.

“Let’s just say I didn’t know what my expectations were. But Saturday definitely exceeded them in a positive way,” she said.

It was also fun and awe-inspiring to watch the moose gallop across the park, Holt said.

“People were standing in the doors of the carousel,” she said. “There were lots of cameras taking pictures and lots of videotaping. It’s not something you typically see and certainly not something you expect to see on an Easter egg hunt morning.”

No one was injured, but the moose did suffer a few scrapes after falling into the basement foundation. She was later taken to a less populated area and released, Bower said.

“It was not exactly how I planned on spending my morning, that’s for sure,” Bower said.

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