Moose on the Loose

Two of my housemates and I were walking home from work (I haven’t yet met my other housemate whom I call “Number 4”) when off in the distance by our cabin I could see four legs standing by a tree.  I got really excited and did my happy dance.  A pony!  It never really occurred to me to ask myself why there would be a random pony in the area but I was pretty darn excited about it.  I squinted and looked harder.  Was that a second pony I spied?  Did someone actually bring me not one but two ponies?  Was this heaven?   As we approached closer I realized that they weren’t ponies at all, but a momma moose and her wee little moosling.  I was a little disappointed that it wasn’t a pony but I have always wanted to see a moose in the wild so I was still excited.  The moose was near our cabin and we had to pass her to get home.  We walked by her as quietly as we could so as not to disturb her.  She barely acknowledged our presence.  She just kept munching away on the bushes, glancing up once in awhile.  She seemed very tame and gentle.  We got back to our cabin and grabbed our cameras for this rare photo op.  We went back outside.  The moose had moved locations and her baby was nowhere to be seen.  We stood there watching and taking pictures.  She didn’t seem bothered by us at all.  We walked a little closer and closer.  She seemed quite content.  Being someone who loves nature I understand that wild animals can be unpredictable, so I didn’t want to get too close.  My one house mate decided to walk futher towards her.  He was about 10 ft away from the moose and I mentioned that maybe we shouldn’t get any closer.  All of a sudden the moose looked up and started running towards us.  We all turned around and ran, my housemates in one direction, me in another.  I heard a big commotion and turned to see one of my housemates on the ground.  He had fallen down and had fallen down hard—he must have tripped and it was obvious that he was pretty hurt.  The moose lowered her head and was getting ready to charge.  My one house mate started waving his arms around, yelling.  That deterred the moose and instead of charging them she went back to eating.  It was obvious she was on edge, irritated, and ready to attack at any time.  We all made it back to the cabin safely.  I looked out the window and could see the moose still eating.  Her baby had returned.  In fact she had two little ones with her. 

Momma and her babies

My fallen housemate was in pretty bad shape.  There was concern that he may have aggravated a previous medical condition, and we needed to get him to the hospital.  We left the cabin and the moose was now between us and the vehicle.  Again my housemate stared waving his arms and yelling.  It was enough to get the moose out of the way so we could get to the car.  We saw two guys taking pictures and warned them that the moose may be aggressive.  They just looked at us and smiled like we had no idea what we were talking about.  Two minutes later when we were pulling away we could see the guys running, with the momma moose chasing them from behind.

Right before the chase

We arrived at the hospital and a few hours later, a cracked rib, and the worst gravel scrapes and bruises I have ever seen, we were finally able to go home.  Thankfully no one had gotten seriously injured, and thankfully my one housemate had been there to scare away the moose.  If he hadn’t have been there then my housemate may have been trampled, or worse.  It was a not so gentle reminder about the unpredictability of nature.  Wild animals may appear tame and docile,  but they are still wild and can turn in an instant.  Apparently there have been previous issues with this moose being aggressive.  I am not sure how the situation is going to be handled but I hope that the moose  (who is apparently pregnant again) and her babies aren’t harmed.  Needless to say it was quite the evening! 

So it’s just a few days more until I finish up my work week and have some time off to start travelling….I can’t wait!