Sunday, February 17, 2008

Falling Moose


This story caught my attention, because well frankly I had no idea other animals had accidents. Why I don't know, just stupid I guess. While I know about dogs and cats going out and getting run over, who would have ever thought the following story. It probably happens pretty often.

Falling moose nearly squashes squad car
Anchorage Daily News.

Published: February 13th, 2008 05:03 PM
Last Modified: February 13th, 2008 05:03 PM

Alaska State Troopers see plenty of hazards, but Trooper Howard Peterson was nearly felled by a new one: falling moose. Peterson was driving Feb. 2 on the Seward Highway south of Anchorage when something big and black fell out of the sky about 20 feet in front of his patrol car. "Falling rock!" he thought, ready to steer clear if it bounced onto the highway.

The thing didn't roll or shatter. It turned out to be a moose that fell from cliffs next to the highway.

Drivers often see Dall sheep on the cliffs but rarely moose. Peterson estimates the animal fell 150 feet or more.

It was windy that night, Peterson said, and a gust may have startled the moose into a fatal fall.

"They occasionally have bad days like the rest of us," said wildlife biologist Rick Sinnott. "They slip and fall. Maybe he was reaching for a branch and the snow just gave way."

Sinnott has heard or moose dying in strange ways - breaking through ice and drowning, jumping off railroad bridges at the sound of a train, falling off small banks. Once he saw the remains of two bulls that died during a rutting battle when their antlers got hooked together by a single piece of barbed wire.

A fall off a cliff probably doesn't happen often, he said.

Peterson treated the dead animal the same way he handles moose killed by cars. After snapping photos, Peterson called one of the charities that salvage road kill.

2 comments:

Empress Bee (of the high sea) said...

"salvage road kill"??? is that like the rednecks salvage it in the south??? ha ha ha ha ha

smiles, bee
xoxoxoxoxoxooxox

Mo and The Purries said...

I'm with Bee -- "salvage road kill"???
So, homeless shelters in Alaska serve moose kabobs???

I've had wild turkeys and deer jump out in front of my car before, and it was heart-startling enough. I would think I'd need a complete change of underwear if a falling moose came at my car!