Watch: Small moose rescued from Fredericton uptown shopping district

A small female moose got lost in Fredericton's uptown Wednesday morning. 

The animal, which appeared to be a juvenile, drew spectators out into the rain as it wandered through traffic circles and along sidewalks on Prospect Street. 

Fredericton police followed the animal as it passed restaurants and grocery stores on the street.

Prospect is a mostly treeless commercial stretch of fast-food restaurants and retail outlets near the green outer edges of the city's south side.

The moose was eventually corralled by police, public safety officers and conservation officers between a shed and highway fencing behind Fredericton's Uptown Centre, in the back of the Sobeys and Goodlife Fitness Centre. 

Forest rangers arrived at the mall to assess the situation and were able to tranquilize the moose and load it onto a trailer. 

"A decision was made to tranquilize the small moose by the department's highly trained staff," Natural Resources spokesperson Nick Brown said in an email.

"Once the yearling cow moose was tranquilized, it was transferred to a forested area, where it was released without incident."