LIBERTY LAKE - The combination of a moose calf's poor health and the close range of a "cracker" firing intended to haze it contributed to the animal's death last week, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officials said.

The moose calf was accidentally killed during attempts by state wildlife officers to scare the animal and its mother away from a day care center in Liberty Lake.

The wildlife officers used a "cracker" shell to haze the cow and its calf away from Meadow Wood Children's Center north of Appleway Avenue. The workers had responded to callers concerned about the animals so close to the day care.

The cow was moving away, but the calf became erratic and "kept wheeling back toward the officers" when the accident happened, said Madonna Luers, the spokeswoman for the wildlife agency in Spokane Valley.

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"We've been using this method for years on literally hundreds of moose. We've never had one go this way," Luers said last week. "Normally, it works beautifully. They get the message that they're not welcome there. And this one went south on us."

Luers said the cracker shell weighs less than an ounce and is effective compared to rubber bullets or paintballs.

"They lob them at or near the moose, and it's the explosion near them that scares them off," Luers said. If the shell hits the animal, it typically bounces off its shoulder or rear. But this time, it likely hit the calf's soft underbelly as it wheeled around toward the officers, and that, combined with the close proximity and calf's poor health, led to its death, she said.

The calf was in "poor body condition," Luers said.

The cow and calf had been spotted in the Liberty Lake community for weeks, and police and the wildlife office have fielded multiple phone calls about the animals. But it wasn't until the animals started bedding down near the day care that the wildlife agency decided to haze them, Luers said.

The department now has received multiple phone calls from residents complaining about the accidental killing, Luers said. Some callers wondered about tranquilizing and relocating the animals. That typically is a last resort because of the risk to the moose, Luers said.

The Liberty Lake Police Department also has handled multiple complaints, which they've referred to the wildlife agency, Police Chief Brian Asmus said. On Friday, a representative from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals called the police department in response to Liberty Lake residents' complaints, Asmus said.

Dealing with moose on the loose Multiple moose sightings in Liberty Lake this season have sent some residents into moose overdrive. The Department of Fish and Wildlife cautions to leave moose alone or scare it away with non-injurious efforts, such as yelling or throwing small stones. Report the moose to the wildlife agency if it hangs out for more than 48 hours or if it has the potential to harm itself or others, said wildlife spokeswoman Madonna Luers. Don't put a dog outside to scare the moose, however, because it can solicit a moose charge or attack, Luers said. She also advises against offering the animals food, which conditions the moose to approach humans. For more tips on handling encounters with moose, visit http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/living/moose.htm

"Was this really the only method F&G has to handle these matters," Dan Willem wrote on The Splash's Web site in response to a news item on the killing. "Seems a bit suspect. What type of ‘shell' from a ‘noisemaker' can take down a young moose? Sad. Very sad."

During the winter, the wildlife department has responded to about 40 or 50 calls in the Spokane County area to haze moose. About half of those the department tranquilized and relocated, Luers said. The department is more likely to resort to tranquilization if the moose is in populated, metropolitan areas, she said.

The department has never resorted to tranquilizing any moose in Liberty Lake, she said. In the past year, last week's event is the third time the agency has attempted to haze moose in the Liberty Lake area, which is considered "fringe" on the edge of open countryside, Luers said.