Giant moose tramples dog sled team in Alaska for almost an hour

A Giant bull moose spent an hour trampling a dog sled team in Alaska even after the owner emptied her gun into the animal.

Bridgett Watkins and her team of dogs were attacked by the moose last week while on a 52-mile run, leaving three dogs needing surgery.

"This has been the most horrific past 24 hours of my life," Watkins said in a Facebook post.

As the giant moose charged at her and her team, Watkins shot the animal, but it didn't stop him from stomping on the dogs, according to the post.

"I ran for my life and prayed I was fast enough to not be killed in that moment," she wrote.

After she and a friend trailing her took refuge behind her snowmobile, the moose charged at them and stopped 2 feet in front of the machine. She was able to cut six dogs free, but the moose went back over to continue trampling them for nearly an hour.

"I have never felt so helpless in my life. He would not leave us alone and he even stood over top of the team refusing to retreat," Watkins wrote.

Some of Watkins' friends arrived at their location and were able to kill the moose, but four dogs sustained serious injuries.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/gia...-sled-182028294.html

Yeah, moose are big enough to do serious damage if they get pissed off.

In my experience, most folks who have never encountered a moose greatly underestimate their size. These aren't just slightly larger deer. They're properly massive creatures.

When I worked in Maine for a time, the company insurance for my employer required that all employees with out of state DLs had to go through a supplemental Maine driving class. It was nearly all about what to do if there's a moose in the road, plus a bit about roundabouts (which were mostly a New England thing at the time, although that's changed in recent years).

I still recall the instructor's halfway joking - but really not - instructions: "If you have a choice between hitting a moose in the road, or swerving and hitting a tree, you should aim for the tree... It will hurt less."

Terrible story. Wonder what she was carrying?

A møøse once bit my sister.

Note to self: "Bring moose gun, not mouse gun."

A .22 short rifle, single shot, bolt action Cricket model.

When I lived in Alaska I carried a Super Blackhawk with hard cast bullets.

If I was in the woods, I also carried an 1895 Marlin .45-70 with hard cast bullets at 1,800 fps.

I've never seen one in person but have seen pics of them destroying cars in traffic encounters.

I'm surprised it hung around for that long after the initial charge and continued to trample them. Never thought a moose would be that deliberate. I guess I was lulled into complacency by the friendly Mr. Moose on Captain Kangaroo as a kid.

I don't understand why if she shot at it once, she didn't shoot at it again (and again and again) if necessary. It was obviously a dangerous creature, and it got shot and killed by the people who turned up at the end, so it wasn't actually invincible or indestructible.


How strange. I wonder if she dropped her weapon when she ran away or didn't carry reload(s).

quote:

Originally posted by Pyker:
I don't understand why if she shot it once, she didn't shoot it again (and again and again) if necessary. It was obviously a dangerous creature, and it got shot and killed by the people who turned up at the end, so it wasn't actually invincible or indestructible.


How strange. I wonder if she dropped her weapon when she ran away.

"the owner emptied her gun into the animal"

Yeah, saw that, then edited my post to reflect it.

quote:

Originally posted by YellowJacket:
A møøse once bit my sister.

Hah!


The headline called it a "giant moose," but it looked like the regular size.

Bummer. Not normal, but not totally abnormal either.

An interior bull moose is larger than many domestic horses. They're also beyond stupid, and anger easily over trivial and unexpected stuff. They have poor eyesight, and a pack of wolves...is a threat to moose. Still, this is a Fairbanks musher operating on a known trail with a snowmachine making noise... not what you'd expect to happen.

Moose are more dangerous than bears. Alaskans know that.

Can you shoot a moose to protect your dogs?

Maybe carry a Tavor 7 for moose and squirrel bear?

quote:

Originally posted by YellowJacket:
A møøse once bit my sister.

Mind you, møøse bites can be pretty nasty.

Please excuse the big city kid over here, but I've seen a moose or two in my day.

Huge.
As in really huge!

What size handgun would one carry for a moose?
Hell, I'm feeling a little undersized with a .44 in bear country.

quote:

Originally posted by Pyker:
Yeah, saw that, then edited my post to reflect it.

And we don't know how many shots actually hit the moose. Emptying the gun doesn't mean shots on target.

I'm sure I'd be poor shot if a moose was trampling me.

quote:

Originally posted by pbslinger:
Can you shoot a moose to protect your dogs?

Yes.

quote:

Originally posted by CPD SIG:
Please excuse the big city kid over here, but I've seen a moose or two in my day.

Huge.
As in really huge!

What size handgun would one carry for a moose?
Hell, I'm feeling a little undersized with a .44 in bear country.

Shot placement goes a long way, but a moose hide with winter coat on is pretty thick. magnum rounds work pretty well, but shotgun and rifle rounds work better.

I carry a 44mag (329PD) as a minimum in outdoor situations. If I actually think I might need it, I carry a 45-70 (1895SBL).

A 10mm is common here, and I have plans to build one at some point for outdoor carry.