Chelmsford family's camera captures moose in backyard

CHELMSFORD, Mass. (WHDH) -- A family in Chelmsford had a close encounter with one wild visitor. A moose made a pit stop in their backyard.

The family set up a camera to capture wildlife, but a moose on the loose was something they didn't see coming.

“So, we’ve seen fisher cats, we’ve seen all types of deer, raccoons, possums,” Miles Mann said.

But Miles Mann had never seen a moose standing in his backyard. The Chelmsford software engineer captured it with a camera equipped with an infrared sensor.

“They use very little power. It doesn’t give off light, so anybody who walks in its field of view trips off the camera and it silently and invisibly takes pictures,” said Mann.

Mann and his daughter set up the backyard surveillance expecting to find bobcats, like the one he captured in his backyard two years ago.

For four weeks, the camera tracked deer and other wildlife roaming free. Tuesday afternoon, a moose appeared.

“I couldn’t believe it. A moose?” Mann said.

“I was surprised because my dad told me that there was a moose in Chelmsford a long time ago,” said Mann’s daughter, Sarah.

With the home bordering conservation land, Mann said he and his family are happy to share their backyard with wildlife.

“We just really happy to see the wildlife here. We’re not concerned about anything with the wildlife. It’s just nice, we’re living with them, they’re living with us. We’re not bothering them. We just think it’s kind of like a detective story. Try to track them down,” Mann said.