Enforcement officers with the Department of Natural Resources in Sydney, N.S. spent most of Friday running after a loose moose.

Three-year-old Brody Marsh first spotted the moose before breakfast.

"I saw a giant moose! And now the police were trying to get him back to his house," he said.

The animal then passed by Sydney River Elementary school.

"I didn't see it, but our Grade 6 [students] were writing a provincial math assessment and everyone was quiet when a young girl shouted out, 'there's a moose outside!'" said vice-principal Carl Anderson.

Staff kept the students inside for recess and lunch.

By 9 a.m., the moose had travelled to the shoulder of Highway 125 between Sydney River and Alexandra Street.

Natural Resources and RCMP officers set up a perimeter along the south side of the highway, to keep the moose away from traffic.

"We've encountered it a number of times already. And we just keep pushing it back. We have guys in the woods that are pushing the moose back farther into the woods,' said Troy MacKay, regional enforcement director with the Department of Natural Resources.

He said it was an average sized cow moose that appeared to be healthy.

MacKay said there are some moose within Cape Breton County, but they don't usually come near people.

Officers tracked the moose to the Prime Brook area. They said the hope now is that it won't turn around and head back into town.