Active moose in classroom
November 5, 2021 7:48 AM Subscribe
"It's a feel-good story, even if there was a little bit of property damage"
This news item from yesterday has been hitting the feeds, chances are you came across it already.. it's the "water-skiing squirrel" moment for the end of the week. In real life, moose often startle a person out in the bush. They are huge, they can be very quiet when they're not very loud, and during rutting season you don't want to encounter moose. Here is information from the Province of Alberta and State of Alaska:
Human-wildlife conflict - Moose
YOU SEE A MOOSE (points to Alaska for capturing the pure adrenaline)
This news item from yesterday has been hitting the feeds, chances are you came across it already.. it's the "water-skiing squirrel" moment for the end of the week. In real life, moose often startle a person out in the bush. They are huge, they can be very quiet when they're not very loud, and during rutting season you don't want to encounter moose. Here is information from the Province of Alberta and State of Alaska:
Human-wildlife conflict - Moose
YOU SEE A MOOSE (points to Alaska for capturing the pure adrenaline)
Glad moosey is ok
posted by supermedusa at 8:44 AM on November 5, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by supermedusa at 8:44 AM on November 5, 2021 [6 favorites]
I can’t believe that moose was allowed in a classroom with no mask!
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:55 AM on November 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:55 AM on November 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
I'd love to hear of your moose encounters.. the recent ones that stick out for me are a few years ago, a young female came into town one winter and she parked herself in a few yards on rotation.. under the mountain ash in our yard, mid-afternoon.. then over to a friend's yard a couple of blocks east, where she could reach over their fence and get at the compost. Moose necks make a mockery of fences. Fish & Wildlife tranked her and relocated her to the bush, probably for the best but sad to see her go. A trail I'd frequent with the dogs, and a juvenile (just old enough to go out solo, but not by much) took up a spot on the trail for their afternoon snooze, and we'd take the bend and come upon it rather suddenly (this happened three times one spring). You ever see a moose get up from a resting position? It happens in stages. Always reminded me of a guilty teenager, where the parent comes in and it's the 4th time they've been called out of bed. And my favourite: a friend was out x-country skiing with her mom and grandmother, they were getting pretty over-heated and thought nothing of stripping down to their bras (no-one around), they take a bend to encounter an adult male in all his splendour. Truly took their breath away, and she became a little obsessed with moose in her paintings to this day.
posted by elkevelvet at 9:00 AM on November 5, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by elkevelvet at 9:00 AM on November 5, 2021 [6 favorites]
I'd love to hear of your moose encounters
A Møøse once bit my sister
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:18 AM on November 5, 2021 [22 favorites]
A Møøse once bit my sister
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:18 AM on November 5, 2021 [22 favorites]
I can’t believe that moose was allowed in a classroom with no mask!
Don't worry, there was immediate social distancing.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 9:21 AM on November 5, 2021 [10 favorites]
Don't worry, there was immediate social distancing.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 9:21 AM on November 5, 2021 [10 favorites]
I was once canoeing in the backcountry with my brother, two days in, and nearly crashed into a moose swimming down a river with her calves following on the bank close by. We turned a bend in the river and came face to face with her - we almost overturned the canoe getting out of the way, because she was going full steam ahead and didn't even break stride.
The pictures from this incident give you a sense of how big moose are - like a combination of a horse and a deer. They're weirdly majestic animals.
posted by fortitude25 at 9:25 AM on November 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
The pictures from this incident give you a sense of how big moose are - like a combination of a horse and a deer. They're weirdly majestic animals.
posted by fortitude25 at 9:25 AM on November 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
I can’t believe that moose was allowed in a classroom with no mask!
I just read that SARS-CoV-2 is spreading like wildfire among deer so actually I’d watch out for the unmasked moose!
posted by atoxyl at 9:27 AM on November 5, 2021 [1 favorite]
I just read that SARS-CoV-2 is spreading like wildfire among deer so actually I’d watch out for the unmasked moose!
posted by atoxyl at 9:27 AM on November 5, 2021 [1 favorite]
“Rocky!!! Where are you Rocky ??! I know he’s in here you bastards! Rocky I’m gonna get you outta here!!”
posted by armoir from antproof case at 9:28 AM on November 5, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by armoir from antproof case at 9:28 AM on November 5, 2021 [4 favorites]
I can’t believe that moose was allowed in a classroom with no mask!
I think you've got the wrong conservative talking point. This is Critical Moose Theory run amok in our schools.
posted by The Bellman at 9:36 AM on November 5, 2021 [14 favorites]
I think you've got the wrong conservative talking point. This is Critical Moose Theory run amok in our schools.
posted by The Bellman at 9:36 AM on November 5, 2021 [14 favorites]
Dogs. If you have a dog with you and you see a moose, leash him and keep him back.
Instructions unclear. Being dragged behind angry moose, by dog leash. Please help.
posted by Splunge at 9:39 AM on November 5, 2021 [17 favorites]
Instructions unclear. Being dragged behind angry moose, by dog leash. Please help.
posted by Splunge at 9:39 AM on November 5, 2021 [17 favorites]
he was told that the moose was in good condition
posted by saturday_morning at 9:41 AM on November 5, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by saturday_morning at 9:41 AM on November 5, 2021 [1 favorite]
I live in moose country (eastern washington), and the one thing that saves our local nextdoor feed from being entirely "get off my lawn" posts is the weekly moose sightings. recently an injured momma took up residence in a cul-de-sac with her calf. eating apples from a tree and becoming a celebrity. I'm pretty sure animal control and a local large animal vet took over from there.
posted by OHenryPacey at 9:57 AM on November 5, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by OHenryPacey at 9:57 AM on November 5, 2021 [5 favorites]
I don't have any moose sightings myself, but this one from Elizabeth Bishop is a classic.
Why, why do we feel
(we all feel) this sweet
sensation of joy?
posted by tuesdayschild at 10:04 AM on November 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
Why, why do we feel
(we all feel) this sweet
sensation of joy?
posted by tuesdayschild at 10:04 AM on November 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
I was going to work last October when a moose scared me off my bike. There is a curve you can't see around at one point and BAM! moose eating leaves! A little guy with little baby antlers, but by "little" I still mean as tall as a compact car. I jumped off my bike because I don't want to be six feet from a moose and went to hide behind a tree (their eyesight is terrible.)
The moose is just eating leaves and high bush cranberries (I feel you bro, they are refreshing) for a good 20 minutes, but every time I try to quietly circle back and get my bike, I snap a twig or something and the moose looks at me, puts its head down, and starts coming for me, so I just hide behind trees and text my boss like "Hey there's a moose on the trail, I'm going to be a little late." Eventually it moves on and I take a picture and text a picture of a moose's rear in the distance and my bike in the foreground with "The situation is finally resolving." And I made it to work only like 15 minutes late, with a story. And, same exact curve in the trail this year, I startled a black bear, so I have learned to slow way down.
Everyone is very understanding, because the moose are everywhere. They run down the street like they're trying to make a bus. They hang out in your yard. They wander the neighborhood-- you can track them by the trail of barking dogs. They eat jack-o-lanterns from porches. They will eat your entire garden if you don't have fences. They get drunk on fermented fallen crabapples and wander the streets, like poor old Buzzwinkle a few years back. There are always moose in that park-- they seem to like the paved trail. I have also seen them do "zoomies" on the golf course. I love them, I love their big soft noses. I wish I could pet a moose but they are wild animals and will straight up kill you with their hooves, so I don't.
posted by blnkfrnk at 10:13 AM on November 5, 2021 [24 favorites]
The moose is just eating leaves and high bush cranberries (I feel you bro, they are refreshing) for a good 20 minutes, but every time I try to quietly circle back and get my bike, I snap a twig or something and the moose looks at me, puts its head down, and starts coming for me, so I just hide behind trees and text my boss like "Hey there's a moose on the trail, I'm going to be a little late." Eventually it moves on and I take a picture and text a picture of a moose's rear in the distance and my bike in the foreground with "The situation is finally resolving." And I made it to work only like 15 minutes late, with a story. And, same exact curve in the trail this year, I startled a black bear, so I have learned to slow way down.
Everyone is very understanding, because the moose are everywhere. They run down the street like they're trying to make a bus. They hang out in your yard. They wander the neighborhood-- you can track them by the trail of barking dogs. They eat jack-o-lanterns from porches. They will eat your entire garden if you don't have fences. They get drunk on fermented fallen crabapples and wander the streets, like poor old Buzzwinkle a few years back. There are always moose in that park-- they seem to like the paved trail. I have also seen them do "zoomies" on the golf course. I love them, I love their big soft noses. I wish I could pet a moose but they are wild animals and will straight up kill you with their hooves, so I don't.
posted by blnkfrnk at 10:13 AM on November 5, 2021 [24 favorites]
I don’t think petting a moose would be very rewarding. How do I know this? Many years ago my cousin and I were driving, late at night, on the dirt road leading to our cottage in Quebec. I was the passenger and was pleasantly drowsing. Suddenly BANG! and filling the window 6 inches to my right was the side of a wide eyed moose head (he or she ran into us rather than the reverse). One of the most shockingly frightening things I’ve ever experienced. We were strapping young lads but we both started gibbering like little girls and when we reached the cottage we dashed for the door and frantically tried to climb over each other to get inside before the big bad moosie got us.
The next morning we had a look at the car. All the way down the right side was a streak of thick mucusy spit, embedded in which was a whole bunch of coarse, wiry hairs.
So I don’t think it would be great to pet a moose, even beside the fact that, as pointed out by binkfrnk, there’s a good chance it would kill you.
posted by Turtles all the way down at 10:40 AM on November 5, 2021 [7 favorites]
The next morning we had a look at the car. All the way down the right side was a streak of thick mucusy spit, embedded in which was a whole bunch of coarse, wiry hairs.
So I don’t think it would be great to pet a moose, even beside the fact that, as pointed out by binkfrnk, there’s a good chance it would kill you.
posted by Turtles all the way down at 10:40 AM on November 5, 2021 [7 favorites]
Also, moose are the only animals for which you should swerve. Hitting them with a car knocks their feet out under them, but they just get up and shake it off, while you and the car are simply crushed. Since they're mostly crepuscular, there's another argument for shifting the working day in the winter so we aren't also crepuscular commuters.
posted by blnkfrnk at 10:50 AM on November 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by blnkfrnk at 10:50 AM on November 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
The last photo in the article of the thoroughly tranquilized moose!!!! Something about the way the moose limbs are tucked or splayed, and the angle of the ears.... I'm getting strong cat vibes guys. What if we had moose-cats. Or cat-mooses. CAN YOU IMAGINE?????
posted by spamandkimchi at 11:32 AM on November 5, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by spamandkimchi at 11:32 AM on November 5, 2021 [5 favorites]
I have not seen a moose in the wild but I did see a moose leg on the side of a bush road in Northern Ontario that had probably bounced out of a hunter's pickup truck.
Reader, it was big. Like shockingly big. Like you could easily see how it wouldn't fit in the back of a pickup truck big.
I had a friend whose brother got hit by a moose while driving an early model Ford Fiesta. The moose ran into the road and just used his car as a berm to do a 180 back into the woods. He kicked the entire passenger side compartment in. If there had a been a passenger they likely would have been pinned in the car by the crushed door. Instead my friend's stoner brother was alone and he just drove 10 hours home across Ontario. When he arrived home and inspected the damage while we sat on our BMX bikes and watched he said, in a great Cheech & Chong manner: "Wow man, I didn't realize it was that bad".
posted by srboisvert at 11:48 AM on November 5, 2021 [8 favorites]
Reader, it was big. Like shockingly big. Like you could easily see how it wouldn't fit in the back of a pickup truck big.
I had a friend whose brother got hit by a moose while driving an early model Ford Fiesta. The moose ran into the road and just used his car as a berm to do a 180 back into the woods. He kicked the entire passenger side compartment in. If there had a been a passenger they likely would have been pinned in the car by the crushed door. Instead my friend's stoner brother was alone and he just drove 10 hours home across Ontario. When he arrived home and inspected the damage while we sat on our BMX bikes and watched he said, in a great Cheech & Chong manner: "Wow man, I didn't realize it was that bad".
posted by srboisvert at 11:48 AM on November 5, 2021 [8 favorites]
What if we had moose-cats. Or cat-mooses. CAN YOU IMAGINE?????
I can definitely imagine them using their antlers to knock stuff off of every flat surface of the house they could get to. And imagine the havoc when they got the zoomies!
Also, all the cat-flaps would need to be enlarged.
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:54 AM on November 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
I can definitely imagine them using their antlers to knock stuff off of every flat surface of the house they could get to. And imagine the havoc when they got the zoomies!
Also, all the cat-flaps would need to be enlarged.
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:54 AM on November 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
Pretty sure this post is one of them eponysterical (sp?) situations.
posted by maggieb at 12:29 PM on November 5, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by maggieb at 12:29 PM on November 5, 2021 [3 favorites]
What if we had moose-cats. Or cat-mooses. CAN YOU IMAGINE?????
I have a lot to say here, but I'm not going to engage in cat and moose games with MeFi.
posted by The Bellman at 12:31 PM on November 5, 2021 [7 favorites]
I have a lot to say here, but I'm not going to engage in cat and moose games with MeFi.
posted by The Bellman at 12:31 PM on November 5, 2021 [7 favorites]
The last photo in the article of the thoroughly tranquilized moose!
I think he'll do much better back at spawn, not ready for the mvp areas yet.
posted by Meatbomb at 12:32 PM on November 5, 2021
I think he'll do much better back at spawn, not ready for the mvp areas yet.
posted by Meatbomb at 12:32 PM on November 5, 2021
Yeah, we were driving from Yellowstone down into Grand Teton when a moose crossed the road alongside us. Looked like a young one, but dwarfed whatever car we were in, probably the van...
Glad the moose made it out. They are majestic beasts.
posted by Windopaene at 1:18 PM on November 5, 2021 [1 favorite]
Glad the moose made it out. They are majestic beasts.
posted by Windopaene at 1:18 PM on November 5, 2021 [1 favorite]
Mynd you, møøse bites Kan be pretti nasti...
posted by Snowflake at 1:32 PM on November 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Snowflake at 1:32 PM on November 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
i feel bad for the moose. he must have been terrified. i wonder if they stitched up his cuts from the glass (i assume he had them because glass, and because there was blood on the tarp/blanket in the last picture).
posted by misanthropicsarah at 1:38 PM on November 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by misanthropicsarah at 1:38 PM on November 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
I assume he was chased in there by Boris and Natasha; was Dudley there to help him out?
posted by TedW at 1:45 PM on November 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by TedW at 1:45 PM on November 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
he was told that the moose was in good condition
It was owned by a little old lady who kept it in a garage and only took it out on weekends.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 3:10 PM on November 5, 2021 [3 favorites]
It was owned by a little old lady who kept it in a garage and only took it out on weekends.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 3:10 PM on November 5, 2021 [3 favorites]
There's a good dashcam video at the link in blnkfrnk's 10:50 comment, from the Alaska Police Department "Driving In Moose Country" page. Mother moose and calf, dashing across a twinned highway. Go take a look! No carnage. Just a near miss.
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 4:27 PM on November 5, 2021
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 4:27 PM on November 5, 2021
Reader, it was big. Like shockingly big. Like you could easily see how it wouldn't fit in the back of a pickup truck big.
The closest I've gotten to a live moose was about 50 or so feet, up around Sudbury. It came crashing out of the bush, and I gotta say: even if you're aware of how large they are, nothing prepares you for how huge a full-grown bull moose is when it's in your immediate vicinity on you're on foot.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 4:48 PM on November 5, 2021 [3 favorites]
The closest I've gotten to a live moose was about 50 or so feet, up around Sudbury. It came crashing out of the bush, and I gotta say: even if you're aware of how large they are, nothing prepares you for how huge a full-grown bull moose is when it's in your immediate vicinity on you're on foot.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 4:48 PM on November 5, 2021 [3 favorites]
Pretty sure he was just looking for the Maryland Zebras
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 6:05 AM on November 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 6:05 AM on November 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
Well, now I know who wrote the credits for Monthy Python the holy grail! 😂
posted by _benj at 8:15 AM on November 6, 2021
posted by _benj at 8:15 AM on November 6, 2021
More capreolinae (New World deer subfamily) news. Please click through for the tweet to see the photo of the deer family.
A deer walked into a store in Colorado. The shop owner gave her some cookies. After leaving the store, she returned after half an hour with her entire family.posted by spamandkimchi at 11:22 AM on November 6, 2021 [4 favorites]
Canada's public eduction system failing our moose.
posted by BozoBurgerBonanza at 1:58 PM on November 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by BozoBurgerBonanza at 1:58 PM on November 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
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