There were several sightings of a young bull moose near Pictou last week. Wildlife officers said they worried it would cause a traffic accident. (Submitted by Julie Hendsbee)

An endangered moose died as a result of a fall from a helicopter sling, the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources says.

Department spokesman Dan Davis said veterinarians have confirmed the moose died of blunt force trauma.

"It fell to the ground from the helicopter netting," Davis told CBC News Monday.

"We don't know exactly how that happened. But we know there was an equipment malfunction, and that's being investigated. We just want to make sure that such a thing doesn't ever happen again."

The moose, one of only about 1,000 in mainland Nova Scotia, died Thursday while wildlife officers were trying to relocate it from the town of Pictou.

Wildlife officers shot the animal with a tranquilizer gun, then put it in a sling to hoist it out of the area. It was four or five metres in the air when it fell.

"The hookup that we had there was tested," said Davis. "It worked before the lift."

Last week, a department spokesman suggested the moose died of stress or drugs. There was no mention of the fall.