Moose Allegedly Attack Snowmobiler, Researcher

It's not uncommon for moose to be a little more ill-tempered than the other members of the deer family, and a number of recent incidents—two from Colorado, another from Maine—have placed the big-game animal firmly in the news this week.

According to a report by a local ABC affiliate, officials in Grand Lake, Colo., are asking snowmobile owners to be on the lookout for moose and other wildlife, largely due to a pair of moose-on-snowmobile run-ins from this winter.

Last week, wildlife officers received a report of a severely injured moose calf along a local trail. Responding officials determined that the calf had likely been struck by a snowmobile. Unfortunately, the calf's injuries were severe enough that it ultimately had to be put down. The calf incident occurred just days after a pair snowmobilers released a video of a more mature moose allegedly ramming one of their vehicles. The ABC affiliate has the video online and, in this case, it's almost undoubted that the snowmobile operators could have paused to allow the moose pass before continuing along the trail. Very poor—and very dangerous, given a moose's size—form.

Meanwhile, CBS Boston is reporting that a wildlife researcher received a less-then-friendly farewell from a moose calf that he'd been collaring for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Wes Livingston told reporters that he'd just released the young calf after fitting it with a radio collar when the animal turned and charged him. In the accompanying video, which Livingston provided, the young moose does, in fact, charge him a number of times upon release. No damage was done—the toss of a large branch ultimately scared the animal off—but the incident underscores the fact that any big-game animal, calf or not, can present a danger in the right situation.

At the end of the day, the message's simple, folks—unless you're hunting them, do your best to stay away from moose. But, hey, at least in this case, everyone stayed sober.