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Moose Encounter

Discussion in 'Pets & Critters' started by Don Alaska, Mar 27, 2022.

  1. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    In Maine, it is well known that a moose is far more likely to kill you than a bear, keeping in mind that we have only black bears. The record is that there have been no recorded incidences of human deaths in the wild due to either bears or moose. In the 1930s, some idiot walked into a cage with a bear and was killed, but that wasn't an attack in the wild. There have been few, if any, cases of serious injuries from bear attacks either, but there have been incidences of attacks by moose, although not resulting in death. However, We have many automobile collisions with moose, and some of them have resulted in death.
     
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  2. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    The posted video incident would have been highly illegal in Alaska. You can shoot a moose , bear, or other animal in defense, but you must dress it out, transport and report it to the nearest Trooper station. You are not allowed to keep the meat or hide. It looked like the guy just drove away on his snowmobile, but maybe he went back when he believed it to be safe. I would never post such a thing on the internet though.

    When our kids were mushers, we armed them with flare guns. In the races, they were not allowed to carry real firearms, but flare guns were legal for them. Not only were they good for moose (and rare bear) defense, but could be used to show location if they were injured or lost.
     
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  3. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    I took a cursory look at the You Tube comments and there was no mention of location.

    So what do the troopers in AK do with the meat & hide...does it all go to the natives?
     
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  4. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    It goes on to people on a charity list. We used to be on the list when we had all the kids at home and I had sons to help. If you are on the list, you get meat from animals that have been killed in self-defense or poached (if the poachers are caught), but you also must respond to road kills, which usually happen in the middle of the night. There is nothing more delightful than dressing out a road killed moose at 3 AM alongside a roadway in total darkness at -40. There is really not much better than the poached meat packaged in game bags ready for aging though. Sometimes the Troopers make the people who have killed in self-defense bag up the meat and sometimes not. Depends on the officer I think or the situation. In the bush (I didn't capitalize) folks are mostly left alone except for obvious poaching or mass kills for fun. I remember one case of Native boys going out on snow machines and slaughtering 30+ caribou and leaving the carcasses to decay or be eaten by predators. The Troopers tried to prosecute but could get no cooperation form the community, so I think they got away scot-free.
     
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  5. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    I appreciate that story. It helps assuage the guilt I'm told I'm supposed to have.
     
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