One brave game warden

[Uncle Jesse]

I hope this officer gets some kind of an award for his bravery in getting the moose free.

http://www.liveleak.com/ll_embed?f=f9132a37d604

[hap]

And I would fire him for sheer stupidity!

He could easily have been very badly injured and there were several things that should always be done when dealing with such situations... A blinder over the bull's eyes would have calmed him significantly. A hobble or tag line from a hind foot would prevent any possible lunges and could easily be released when the moose was freed.

Better yet would be a simple tranquilizer shot to allow the moose to be treated before release. The velvet is particularly rich in blood flow and there were several major gashes that had a very strong probability of becoming infected.

The idiot that started talking loudly while the chain cutter was next to the moose deserves a swift moose kick to the head.

Doing something dangerous when there are lots of better and safer options does not make sense. The swingset tangled moose is actually a pretty common phenomenon in moose country... One in Anchorage a few years back had a tire swing dangling...

As kids we thought it cool to see who could sneak up behind moose and touch them and get away. These were moose in the backyard in deep snow. They would come at us and we would "hide" behind the little birch trees. We were lucky no one was hurt...

[EdD]

I suspect Miss Betty is baking cookies and looking for the address of her new friend and hero.

Ed

[JohnScott]

... despite hap's ideas about some better ways to do it, I'll just accept that this fellow did what he could do in the moment he was in.

As to an award - the man already has his reward simply calming the moose to the point that he could do what he set out to do, free the moose without either one of them being injured. I venture to say that the fact that critter let him touch it on the nose in the process is a memory that will last a lot longer and give him more pleasure than anything that could be presented to him as an award.

Maybe SE Idaho isn't the kind of "moose country" that Art lives in, but being around mooses was very common when fishing the South Fork of the Snake and the Henry's Fork, more so the South Fork. Never saw one hung up in a swingset. Guess they were country mooses, not urban mooses. And most of them are pretty docile animals, excepting cows with calves, and they send real clear vibes about what you should do, and bulls during the rut, which really should not be messed with.

Awesome video, Jesse. Thanks for posting it.

John

[billhouk]

I think COs must be the bravest folks around. Not only do they deal with wild animals, they have to deal with party animals who are often armed.

Hats off to the conservation officers every where!

[Rick Z]

Having grown up in Alaska, I would never do that.
That is my private opinion.

Rick

[NewTyer 1]

Though his safety was in danger, he did what HE thought was right in spite of the danger. These men/women get into this field for love of the outdoors and everything in it, including moose in swingset. Were there other options that may have been better? Yes, but, it is easier being an armchair quarterback after the fact. I say, Job well done.

[Kerry Stratton]

Having grown up in Alaska, I would never do that.
That is my private opinion.

Rick

Having fished in Alaska I would never do that. The scariest thing to ever happen to me involving an animal was being chased by an Alaskan bull moose while fishing a small trib of Lake Kenai.

[quivira kid]

That guy is an idiot! AT LEAST put blinders over his eyes!

[hap]

... despite hap's ideas about some better ways to do it, I'll just accept that this fellow did what he could do in the moment he was in.

As to an award - the man already has his reward simply calming the moose to the point that he could do what he set out to do, free the moose without either one of them being injured. I venture to say that the fact that critter let him touch it on the nose in the process is a memory that will last a lot longer and give him more pleasure than anything that could be presented to him as an award.

Maybe SE Idaho isn't the kind of "moose country" that Art lives in, but being around mooses was very common when fishing the South Fork of the Snake and the Henry's Fork, more so the South Fork. Never saw one hung up in a swingset. Guess they were country mooses, not urban mooses. And most of them are pretty docile animals, excepting cows with calves, and they send real clear vibes about what you should do, and bulls during the rut, which really should not be messed with.

Awesome video, Jesse. Thanks for posting it.

John

John
Several important points here... This is recent video and AK has been catching moose on swingsets for years. With today's communication and safety awareness there is no excuse for not checking on doing this the best way,for both moose and warden.

Please do not look at this video if you are squeamish:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4s4wejeyS0

The elderly gentleman in the video was killed on the spot. Another lady was killed by a moose in her backyard in Anchorage. There have been others. Moose are nothing to mess with.

I saw a very respectable sized bull moose today within a mile of the house, while headed in a direct line to the closest fly shop and less than 50' from a house we lived in for a couple years almost 30 years ago. Yeah, we have urban moose and we have rural moose and we have moose that rarely, if ever see people. But the moose in the video was also a very urban looking moose with the ornaments on his headgear...

More people are injured by moose than bears, yet bears get the bum rap. This past spring a couple AST Brown Shirts (AK fish and wildlife enforcement is handled by the Dept of Safety, not F&G) were treed by a cow moose with a calf and held in the tree for a while when they tried to assist some treed tourists.