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What to do about aggressive moose
- apelapan 3y ago[flagged]
- codeduck 3y ago[flagged]
- edrxty 3y ago[flagged]
- prmoustache 3y agoDon't get bitten by not being an idiot would be the first advice.
- DonHopkins 3y ago[flagged]
- graderjs 3y agoPretty weird, a Goog search reveals this exact same phrase (along with https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36135301 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36135301) appearing multiple times on the net. So strange!!!!! https://www.google.com/search?q=moose+sharpened+toothbrush https://www.google.com/search?q=moose+sharpened+toothbrush
- aziaziazi 3y agoTLDR: leave them the fuck alone in the wild, and avoid them in urban areas. Also: > if a moose does charge, don't wait to find out if it's bluffing. Run and get behind something solid, like a tree, or retreat to a safe place.
- londons_explore 3y agoIf a moose is already charging, I'm not sure running away will really help you... They can run 56 kph... Human agility and ability to go round corners faster is probably your only protection.
- chmod775 3y ago>If a moose is already charging, I'm not sure running away will really help you Often they don't chase. It's not like you're prey to them. If they got rid of you by scaring you off, they already accomplished their goal. Running away communicates very clearly that you don't plan to fuck with them. They may make you run for a couple meters and once they're satisfied get back to whatever they were doing.
- aziaziazi 3y agoI can't help thinking of that man filming his encounter with a mother puma walking backwards: https://youtu.be/9Pg2CDCm34w https://youtu.be/9Pg2CDCm34w
- rq1 3y agoDon’t moose yourself.
- petesergeant 3y agoI think if you’re not Canadian or American, it’s easy to underestimate how big moose are; apologies for the source but: https://www.buzzfeed.com/natalyalobanova/guys-did-you-know-that-moose-are-really-big https://www.buzzfeed.com/natalyalobanova/guys-did-you-know-t... EDIT: Apologies, apparently we have them in Europe too
- ejolto 3y agoThere are moose in Northern Europe and Siberia as well.
- marginalia_nu 3y agoYeah. There's supposedly been schemes at developing moose cavalry. Which sounds silly as hell but would have been pretty terrifying. Like they're larger than a draft horse and very mobile in rough terrain.
- goodcanadian 3y agoYes, I once just about walked into one while lost in thought when walking along a trail. I didn't see it because its chest was over my head; there were only legs in my line of sight.
- drclau 3y agoHow did the encounter go? Don’t leave us hanging here!
- vesinisa 3y agoMost moose encounters are entirely uneventful. Moose normally avoid / don't care about humans. That's why they are actually most dangerous to drivers - a high velocity moose crash is very dangerous for any vehicle smaller than a semi or van due to the anatomical mechanics of the moose body.
- 3y ago
- bloodyplonker22 3y agoReminds me of this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0h1XlsskYmY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0h1XlsskYmY The moose attacks exactly how akaska.gov says it usually does, with its front hooves. Unfortunately, this guy could not run because he was in a narrow path on a snowmobile.
- thatwasunusual 3y ago[flagged]
- dang 3y agoNationalistic flamebait isn't ok here, regardless of what country you have an issue with, so please don't post like this to HN. Flamewar comments of any kind are not what we're going for here. If you wouldn't mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and taking the intended spirit of the site more to heart, we'd be grateful.
- Nemrod67 3y agoonly one path through, no way to turn back, made as much noise as possible and tried to look bigger. Only drew his pistol after the first charge, and then gave a warning shot. The dude tried everything he could in this situation, and I'm sure he's not happy he had to shoot such a beautiful animal.
- thatwasunusual 3y ago[flagged]
- a4a4a4a4 3y agoThe snow is too deep on either side, with too many trees to quickly and effectively turn around without getting stuck. It might work, but he could very easily have gotten stuck trying to do it. You also need to drive forward to start the turn, and the moose absolutely can outrun your snowmobile in that snow, so if it attacks you're going to have a problem. Reverse isn't always available on snowmobiles. Even if this one had reverse, in this loose snow it would likely dig in and bury itself. I guess you've never ridden a snowmobile?
- sandos 3y agoI remember the woman in Sweden that was found, apparently, beaten to death. Of course the husband was the prime suspect. Took a long good while for them to agree that she was in fact killed by a moose. He even sued for wrongful accusation: https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/6264964 https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/6264964
- mongol 3y agoThat story is a despicable example of shabby police work. They found blood on the lawnmover and assumed it was her blood. They never tested the kind of blood. It turned out it was blood from snails.
- khazhoux 3y agoWasn’t it discovered later that the husband and the moose were in cahoots and had planned the whole thing together?
- MadSudaca 3y agoExtremely unfortunate. You have to deal with your spouse's death and as an extra, you get thrown in jail and ostracized by your community. The article doesn't say anything of what happened afterwards, but I hope the man had his retribution.
- rob74 3y agoThis underlines the unfortunate difference between what you see on TV shows like CSI and reality: I think if either the police or the pathologist had cared to look close enough, the differences between the wounds of being beaten vs. trampled by a moose should be enough to clear the husband of suspicion before he was charged?
- di456 3y agoThey are more dangerous on the road. Sedans get opened up like a sardine tin. The bumper hits the legs and the body hits the rest of the car.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- londons_explore 3y agoNearly always, it is the car that hits the moose, not the moose that hits the car. Aka... Driver is darwin'ing themselves..
- di456 3y agoDriving at night the animal is nearly invisible in the shadows of the road shoulder. Even in the day they can bolt without warning. Always a good idea to slow down if you do see them, and put hazard lights on to warn other drivers. Dawn and dusk are when they are most active. In a split second they can walk in front of you before you can brake. Add wet, foggy, icy, or snowy conditions and the braking ability is even more limited.
- Broken_Hippo 3y agoAka... Driver is darwin'ing themselves.. I was with you for the first half, but I've seen moose on the road. They sometimes just appear, much like deer would just appear in the midwest. Even when you see them, you might not have much time to respond. It is amazing that they can blend into the woods so readily considering their size.
- jacquesm 3y agoDeer can teleport, this is well known to anybody that has done sufficient mileage in Northern Canada.
- singingboyo 3y agoYou don't even have to go north, really. Just driving a few nights on a quiet, dark road outside the big cities late at night will convince you that deer 1) basically teleport 2) are stupid 3) can be absolutely terrifying when they show up out of nowhere, despite 2. (And yes, 2 only really applies w.r.t. cars and roads.) Possibly time of year dependent, I guess, but seriously, one weekend of nightly midnight drives out in the Shuswap area of BC was all it took. I now/still respect the effects of the deer, but marvel at their unmitigated stupidity.
- traceroute66 3y agoDepends if the moose is loose aboot the hoose.
- lionkor 3y agoPlural of Moose should be Meese, like Goose and Geese. Chicken should be the plural of Chicken. More news at 11.
- pcthrowaway 3y agoI agree, it should always be meese in the aggregate. This would follow the same [i-mutation](https://www.etymonline.com/columns/post/imutate?old=true https://www.etymonline.com/columns/post/imutate?old=true) that foot, tooth, and goose do, as well as mouse and louse
- cubefox 3y agoSimilarly, shoop should be the singular of sheep. Like tooth and teeth.
- jacquesm 3y agoMoose mating season is very impressive. On the road between Wawa and Sault Ste. Marie I ran into a massive herd around dusk. Even in a pickup truck the bulls easily tower above you and the cows aren't all that much smaller and will still look down on you. Go slow, and don't use your horn. Unfortunately there is no way to avoid that road because there really are no others that aren't even worse.
- throwawaaarrgh 3y agoOnce I was on a mountain ridge, trail was basically on the side of the mountain with a sheer drop on one side and sheer incline on the other. Rounded a corner and saw the bull moose facing me, chomping leaves. I mistakenly thought my bear bell might gently prod it to leave, so I shook it a bunch making noise. But instead of it leaving, it looked at me and then slowly started walking towards me. Luckily I'd read enough about moose and started walking backwards, then sped up my walking as it got closer, and as soon as I rounded the bend, ran like crazy until I found part of the hill I could climb. When the moose got to where I climbed, it stopped and looked around for me. Eventually it moved on.
- MadSudaca 3y agoHow do you know it moved on?
- throwawaaarrgh 3y agoI was watching it from behind the tiny tree I was hiding behind, about 25 yards up the mountain. Was hoping I was far enough and that moose couldn't run uphill...
- MadSudaca 3y agoI mean, how do you know it's still not after you, waiting for the right moment to get you... When you least expect it.
- Technotroll 3y agoHere in Norway, we call the moose for “elg.” Same in Sweden. Well, almost the same. They call it “älg”. It's very similar to the English word elk, but it means moose, though elk is of course also in the deer family. While the Northern European moose is smaller than the North American, we still treat it with a lot of respect if we ever come across them in nature. Especially if the moose has calves, you should steer well clear of it, because the mother will attack, and kill or maim you badly. Sadly, being such a heavy animal – it can easily weigh a literal tonne – it’s also the source of some very serious car accidents, especially on lonely stretches of roads passing through forests, for which there is a lot of on the Scandinavian peninsula. Being so tall, the car will hit its feet first, and then the rest of the animal will land on the bonnet and window, often crushing the driver and passengers. Worst of all, they like to trek at dusk, or when the light is dim, so if you’re ever on a lonely, forested stretch of road during that time, you need to keep your eyes peeled. On top of that, that’s the time of day when the pelt disguises them the best against the surrounding nature, so you really must keep on your toes when driving during those hours.
- tlavoie 3y agoThe description of a moose that I like is, "1000-pound rabbit on stilts." Gives you some idea of the size, and the threat model as a car driver.
- brozaman 3y ago> While the Northern European moose is smaller than the North American, we still treat it with a lot of respect if we ever come across them in nature. Smaller deers are dangerous and you need to be careful with them. In Spain the largest deers are red deers (males over 200kg are very rare) and there are a few cases of people killed by them. Even small females are dangerous enough to kill healthy large man. Even roe deers, which are quite small (maybe 30kg a larger male), can cause serious injuries because they are crazy agile and fast and their antlers are quite sharp. Here's a video of a man trying to feed one: https://www.club-caza.com/files/videos/Ataque-de-corzo-a-persona.mp4 https://www.club-caza.com/files/videos/Ataque-de-corzo-a-per... Deers may not look dangerous because they are herbivorous and cute, but they are.
- dreen 3y agoIf you would like to spend some time with non-agressive moose, completely tame individuals who love to be scratched or given a potato, I recommend visiting The Moose Garden in Sweden. Last time I was there they planned to also provide accomodation together with the baby moose in their separate private enclosures, as living with them is a part of taming process. The best time to visit is in late spring, as their skin produces an oil which smells like fabric softener. You cannot visit at all during mating season obviously. This is not an ad Im just a happy visitor.