Contributors to this thread:
https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/wildlife/2024/05/20/homer-man-killed-in-moose-attack-was-trying-to-photograph-calves-troopers-say/
I would rather fight a grizzly bear with a stick than to piss off a cow moose with a little red calf.
I believe the last human killed by a moose in AK was 1995. That incident was not related to a cow protecting a calf.
Moose are well-equipped to teach humans valuable lessons about the natural world.
Pete
Natural selection at work.
His buddy proved you don't have to be able to out run a moose, just the person you are with.
There was one more recently than 1995. There was a professor that got flattened 5 or so years ago at one of the University campuses.
Sad, and condolences to the family...
Would have thought an outdoorsman "guide" would have known better...
I and a couple co-workers were scouting a new game lands after work one day about 30 years ago. A couple of cute kittens were wrestling in the middle of a dirt road bisecting a soybean field. I dared my buddy on the passenger side to go pick one up and then screamed at his dumb azz when he opened the door. He gave me the WTF look and I pointed to mother bobcat's head peaking out between the rows. He called me some names I can't repeat here. Momma did not look pleased with her offspring or us. It was a tossup who was going to take the first azz-whoopin', but I reminded him frequently he owed me for saving his! It a shame that mammal mothers have way better maternal instincts than humans!
Idyllwild,
The moose fatality on the UAA campus was in 1995.
https://www.chronicle.com/article/moose-attacks-and-kills-man-at-u-of-alaska/
My mistake. I thought that was more recent.
That’s wild, DL! What year was that, do you know?
Hatchet Jack? No, never mind...having Jeremiah Johnson flashbacks at that was a "grizzerbar"!
Nomad's Link
Sounds like to me, that this was a totally different situation than some dip$hit touron trying to get a “selfie” with an animal. More like that they stumbled into range of the cow, before knowing exactly where she was.
Scary. I flew into Homer the day after this happened. I was surprised by the number of moose in and around town.
Cow moose often hang around town while they calve and while the calves are small. They seem to know that there will be less bears "in town!"
Pete
“Sounds like to me, that this was a totally different situation than some dip$hit touron trying to get a “selfie” with an animal. ”
Not sure that I’d agree that it’s “totally” different….
JMO, the problem with knowing what you’re doing is that we humans have a tendency to know better than to attempt some things, but we do them anyway…. And some days, Nature is just not your friend… Just recently, a guy I grew up with perished falling into a crevasse; professional guide for decades, known for being smart/conservative, wife & kids…. and the mountain didn’t care.
Zbone's Link
"Idaho Turkey Hunter Shoots Charging Moose in Self-Defense"
https://www.outdoorlife.com/survival/idaho-turkey-hunter-shoots-charging-moose/?utm_term=ODL%20-%20053124&utm_campaign=Outdoor%20Life_Newsletter&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email
I've had point blank showdowns with a cougar and some bears, but nothing concerned me more than when a cow moose chased and then hunted me while I hid behind a fallen tree in a snowdrift. And she didn't have a calf. Terrifying creatures, and I live with them daily. My head is on a swivel even just going up to the garage. I always carry "bear" spray, but not for bears....