A moose marked the last day of school Thursday with a visit to Service High School, during which Anchorage police used a cruiser to slowly chase the animal off a field.
In a brief video sent to Channel 2 by Service High student Kyla Jones, the moose ambles along at a casual pace outside her classroom, followed by an officer at the wheel of a squad car.
APD spokesperson Anita Shell says police were informed at 11:07 a.m. about the moose outside the school, at 5577 Abbott Rd.
"This moose had clearly been a problem since 10 o'clock in the morning," Shell said.
Service High's APD school resource officer, Mitch Paige, used his vehicle to carefully pursue the moose, which Shell says had been chased off by 11:16 a.m.
According to Shell, the use of the cruiser shown in the video is fairly routine during moose calls received by police.
"That's how we get 'em out of residential areas," Shell said. "It's a little safer than getting out and chasing them on foot, or shooting them."
Shell says APD often responds to similar moose calls from areas of town that border woods, including its own headquarters at 4501 Elmore Rd. She says no damage or injuries -- either human or ungulate -- were reported during the incident.
"The moose was not hurt in the production of that video," Shell said.
Contact Chris Klint