Moose in them there woods.....

According to the Otago Daily Times, A hunter says DNA tests have confirmed the existence of a Canadian moose in a remote part of Fiordland.

The results are the second since June 2001 to suggest at least one of the animals - introduced from North America in 1910 and last seen more than 30 years ago - is still very much alive. Evading the cameras much like Loch Ness.

Mr Tustin and his wife, Margie, collected the sample during a regular visit to the thickly wooded and steep area opposite Oke Island in October 2002.

Hamilton-based researchers Deer Improvement sent the Tustins' sample, the already tested Harper hair, and about 40 other samples to a forensic laboratory at Trent University in Ontario, Canada, this year.

The laboratory returned the results late last month and both samples were confirmed as having come from a moose, said Deer Improvement director Peter Gatley.

Ten Canadian moose were introduced to Fiordland's Supper Cove in 1910, but their population declined steadily under pressure from red deer. The last rumoured sighting was in 1971. Maybe some more should be added to boost the #'s

Moose had eluded cameras in the area but bedding spots and browsing and antler marks suggested up to 20 animals might live there, Mr Tustin said.

A Natural History NZ camera took a blurred image of a suspected moose in 1995.