|
If you come upon a moose that’s close by and it’s letting you know it’s not happy about your presence, you need to look around and think fast.
The fact of the matter is, bull moose are most dangerous during the rutting season (much of the fall) and in the winter, when they get fatigued while walking in heavy snows. They’ve been known to bed down under decks or lean against structures, exhausted, when they’ve completed a trek through the snow. That does not mean that, as kind hearted as you may be, you should go out and try to help the most mammoth members of the cervid family. He’s merely tired and resting and when he catches his breath, he’ll thank you for your kindness by pummeling you with his hooves, especially if you own a dog that’s snapping at his heels.
The female of the species, cows, can get very ugly when approached, especially during the spring and summer seasons after they’ve calved or are teaching their youngsters the ways of the wild. You’d get a little ornery too if you’d just passed a 60-pound calf. And getting between a cow and a calf is like poking a grizzly bear with a stick. Cows get incredibly protective of their young and have been known to take on wolf packs to save a calf.
Unfortunately, many people don’t know the charge warning signs. Moose have been known to walk up to people almost nonchalantly as if they’re inviting interaction. Don’t be too quick to accept the perceived friendly invitation. They will often walk slowly up to a person for one of two reasons: 1. To warn you; 2. Because they expect you to offer up some food. In either case, it’s not approaching to be patted or to catch up on the latest woodlands gossip, and the smartest thing to do is run until you put something big and hard between you and that moose.
The warning signs that a charge is imminent (which is distinct from meandering in your direction) are:
- The hair on the hump on its back is raised;
- Its ears are down and back; and
- It starts licking its lips.
According to wildlife authorities, if you can see it licking its lips, you’re way too close anyway.
More often than not, if you run away from a moose exhibiting these charge signals, it’ll probably end its pursuit after a relatively short time. But if one does charge, do your best is to run and get behind something solid. If there’s a tree nearby, move around it away from the charging beast. You’re far more agile than it is, so you could escape it that way or by continuing to encircle the tree or climbing the tree if possible.
Many charges are warnings--bluffs to see what you’ll do. If the moose doesn’t get the response it wants and does charge you, it kicks out with its forelegs when it gets close enough and can cause some serious injury doing that alone. More often, it will knock you down and has been known to use all four hooves on anyone on the ground. If that animal weight 1,400 pounds, do the math on what being battered by its hooves can do to you.
The smartest thing to do under that scenario is to curl
up in a fetal position, protect your head with your hands and arms and
remain absolutely motionless. Do not move until the animal is well away
from you or you may trigger a second attack.
When it’s all over, seek medical attention right away. Animal attacks do put people into shock, and if you get shocky, you’ll be in no shape to assess your medical condition on your own. If the moose breaks a rib or two, you could suffer a pneumothorax (collapsed lung), which is very serious. So get to the nearest hospital as quickly as possible for a full examination.
 There have been occasions when moose have attacked people without any apparent provocation. According to www.thedenverchannel.com, the Denver ABC affiliate Website, Louis Heckert, a 92-year-old man walking to church was blindsided by a moose and wound up in critical condition in a local hospital. Wildlife authorities are still scratching their heads about what caused that attack. The answer may lie in whether or not a human fed that bull. If a moose is fed once by a human, but not again, it may attack the person who fed it or any other human if it doesn’t get more food. Their ability to get conditioned by just one feeding, during which they quickly make the connection between humans and food, is uncanny.
Interestingly, moose are somewhat enigmatic. They do get moody, but during the American Revolution, Hessians, the German allies of the British, actually captured and broke the beasts to be ridden like horses into battle. They were pretty handy war machines with those vast antlers and slashing hooves. Trouble was, at the first sound of gunfire, they turned tail and headed straight away from the battle, the Hessians trying frantically to turn them around without luck.
In any event, moose are somewhat like elk in terms of approachability and are the largest members of the deer family. For the most part, they’re twig and bark eaters and get their name from the Algonquin Indians for precisely what they eat. If you see one and have a camera, snap away, but from a safe distance. It’s definitely a “don’t touch” creature.
Deer
For those who have warm and fuzzy images in mind about deer and the impression that each starts off as Bambi, you need to rethink that image a bit. Deer, although smaller by far than moose, have extremely sharp hooves, and they use them as if they’re boxing. Only instead of the one-two punch, they drum the victim repeatedly with those fore hooves.
Many people may well remember the video of a wildlife enthusiast who, with bow in hand, deliberately provoked a buck while his wife photographed the attack. The buck turned positively manic in its attack, and no matter how much the hunter tried to escape, the deer kept after him.
Next Page >>
Page 4
| Page 1 | Page-2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5 | Page 6 |
|
