Canada family wakes to moose swimming laps in backyard pool, then faces 15-hour rescue

What began with an unexpected splash in the dark turned into a daylong rescue for one North Bay, Ontario, household after a young moose wound up in the family's backyard pool. By the time it was over, roughly 15 hours later, the animal was exhausted, the pool was damaged, and the homeowners were left with a story they would not soon forget.

What happened?

CTV News reported that homeowner Kurt Blaszczyk and his wife, Abby, were awakened by a loud splash around 4 a.m. on June 27 at their home in North Bay's Airport Hill neighborhood. Because a bear had recently wandered through the yard, he initially thought it might be something similar again.

"You could see in the early morning light it was much larger and it was a moose," Blaszczyk said. When he got a better look, he realized the animal was a young moose in trouble in the pool's deep end.

Blaszczyk tried to direct the moose toward the shallow end so it would have a way out. After that, the animal became trapped in a fenced wooded section of the yard, later went back into the pool, and eventually smashed through another fence into a neighbor's pool, where it became entangled in a solar blanket.

At one point during the ordeal, the moose was so exhausted that it stopped to rest behind a golf net. "It actually rested for a couple hours," Blaszczyk said.

Why does it matter?

A stressed or injured moose can pose a danger to itself and to nearby people, and Blaszczyk said the animal even charged at responders during the rescue effort.

Backyard pools, fencing, sheds, and covers are built for human use, but for a young animal moving through unfamiliar terrain, they can become a maze of barriers and entanglement risks.

As neighborhoods, roads, and recreational spaces continue to intersect with wildlife habitat and travel routes, animals can become disoriented, trapped, or forced into close contact with people. In this case, the moose did not appear aggressive by nature but rather panicked and exhausted.

There were human costs as well. The family's pool liner was damaged badly enough that it had to be removed, and Blaszczyk said they are now working with their insurance company.

What's being done?

Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources staff and firefighters came to the property to try to tranquilize the moose and remove it safely. Blaszczyk said officials even used the family's gazebo as a "sniper's nest" while attempting dart shots, but they were unsuccessful twice.

After the moose broke through the fence and later got out through a gate, responders followed it along nearby streets until it stopped near Laurentian Ski Hill. The ministry stayed with the moose until about 9:30 p.m. to monitor its cuts and minor injuries, and by the next morning, it was gone.

The Blaszczyks also said they plan to make changes to their pool area in case another unexpected swimmer appears.

By the end of the ordeal, the family was mostly relieved that the moose survived. "After eight hours in my yard, I was kind of getting attached to it a little bit. I almost named her," Blaszczyk joked. "It was quite an experience."

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