 While the Lake Bemidji shoreline was a busy place Saturday morning as hundreds turned out to see an extremely rare sight, a moose was spotted in the lake and quickly went viral through social media. Images and video of the moose began to flood all forms of social media. Bemidji City Council member Michael Mealhouse was so excited for the sight he livestreamed his encounter as he ran through downtown Bemidji to catch a glimpse of the bull moose. Mealhouse says it was an incredible sight and many people took advantage of the rare opportunity. It was basically packed, there were cars stopping by, the word spread really fast, people were lined up along the shore and really just kind of walking all the way down towards Diamond Point to where the moose was headed. About 30 years ago moose were a common sight in the area but never in an urban setting. Since then there's been a rapid decline in the Minnesota moose population and with fewer moose around, many male moose are left to roam the territory looking for a female. In the fall of the year right about now as the days begin to get shorter and shorter, the moose go into their breeding season which is called the rut and the males start to move around looking for a female moose and they can go a long, long ways in a short distance and that's what this one's doing is just moving around looking for a female. The Minnesota DNR says that if you see a moose keep your distance and contact your local DNR office. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.