Score 1 for Mother Nature

[rtbaum]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/camera-capt...ry?id=23397499

[Donald]

Good on the Moose. Humankind doesn't own the environment and have the right to be able just go around just doing what it wants.

I'm very glad they say they've learned a new respect for wildlife. But why did it take an incident such as this for that to happen. They could have engaged their brains a bit more beforehand! Maybe if they had stopped when they first encountered the animal instead of chasing it down the trail, making it so scared it felt it had to stand and defend. Now, that would have shown some respect. Idiots!

[IzzieK]

Interesting story. I am just glad that despite their stupidity they survived that encounter. Lesson learned -- I hope.

[John 2]

Good on the Moose. Humankind doesn't own the environment and have the right to be able just go around just doing what it wants.

I'm very glad they say they've learned a new respect for wildlife. But why did it take an incident such as this for that to happen. They could have engaged their brains a bit more beforehand! Maybe if they had stopped when they first encountered the animal instead of chasing it down the trail, making it so scared it felt it had to stand and defend. Now, that would have shown some respect. Idiots!

With you 100% Donald.

[chauncey]

What is it about "stand your ground" that people fail to understand...you break into someone's home and can't figure out why he's angry. That forest is his home.

[Tringa]

The lack of consideration for other creatures and the stupidity of some people never ceases to amaze me.

Dave

[Downrigger]

Stupidity, yes, but also born of the odd human arrogance that distinguishes and isolates us from all else that lives.

[Kyle]

I don't understand how people see a Moose and think "hey let's chase it!"

[flashback]

This article is a bit clearer on what happened. The ABC story is choppy, unclear and decidedly slanted.

For those that don't click the above link; the couple state the moose jumped out of the woods onto the trail they were on (a common occurrence as trails make for much easier walking for the moose. Also, with the advent of groomed snowmobile trails it makes winter easier on moose as they expend less energy in their search for food.) They followed, NOT chased the moose, something they (and many other snowmobilers) have experienced before.

Sadly the OP linked article makes them sound like yahoos when in reality they (the couple) were simply enjoying a day riding the trails. Funny how people will jump to a conclusion based on little (if any) information of substance (based, of course, on the comments section of the OP link).

For what it's worth there are over 14,000 miles (22,400 kilometers) of groomed snowmobile trails in Maine. Given the paucity of information in either article I would simple assume that they were not *chasing* the moose and that, in this instance, this particular moose happened to get annoyed by the people.

One final comment, what would the reaction be had the couple been on snowshoes or Xcountry skis and the same happened? Would people then assume it was the moose's fault? Because even people on skis could be thought of as harassing a moose simply by their presence.

[rtbaum]

Jack- At the risk of offense, a full 20 seconds elapsed showing a moose running at full gallop being followed (pursued?) by a snow mobile, I trust my eye! I have had similar experiences, I stop.

[flashback]

Randy,
No offense taken. While the video doesn't show the moose jumping onto the trail, given the initial distance between moose and snowmobile it appeared to me that the moose was initially standing and then began to run (I could be mistaken). And I likewise presume that the snowmobilers assumed the moose would disappear off the trail. It's hard to conclude they were chasing the moose.

The article linked by the OP leaves little doubt the people were at fault, as do the many comments at the end of the article. The other article I linked seemed to be more balanced. This is a quote from that article; "We were not following it too close and were actually slowing down. Moose are not afraid of snowmobiles and don't act like this when we see them on the trail. We have never seen one be this aggressive and we see them all the time in this area."

Many of those that commented seemed to suggest people had no right being on the trails. I see it differently. Moose are hardly rare in Maine (and becoming somewhat commonplace in southern New England). Human/wildlife interaction is going to occur and I suspect that in the great majority of these encounters, humans go one way and wildlife goes the other way.

[Kyle]

While the people can say they were not following too close, the video clearly shows them following the Moose. The man got quite close to it so I can see why it probably felt threatened. I am sure they see Moose on the trails all the time so they didn't think it was a big deal but there is always a chance that a wild animal like that will do something you don't expect.
They need to keep a wider distance than that or wait for it to move off the trail.
Human and animal interaction is bound to happen but we have the sense to give them their space. They're just protecting their habitats.

[NorthernFocus]

Moose are prey species. When chased, due to their size their best defense is to stop and fight back. It's been well documented by biologists that most moose that stand and fight wolf packs survive the encounter. The runners get hamstrung and pulled down. Think they have he capacity to recognize the difference in being chased and something running behind them that means them no harm?

I saw the video without sound long before reading this post or seeing this link. The people are typical arrogant humans. If the moose was standing still and then ran in the opposite direction, is it hard to figure out it is running from you? Ok, so won't it be fun to ride behind it on the snowmachine?

Moose lose up to 1/3 of their body weight during the winter. They get so desperate for food that they gnaw the bark on trees which has almost no nutritional value but fills their stomachs. How many calories do you think a half ton animal burns running 100m down a trail? None of which it can replace nutritionally until spring.

I'm far from an environmental wacko. In my youth I killed enough animals to fill a railcar. But I've always had a love and respect for nature. The VAST majority of people that venture into the woods are simply arrogant. I ironically if a stranger treated their family pet the same way most people would be incensed.

Wild animals have enough of a challenge simply surviving. Disturbing their migration, feeding, nesting, etc, in any way is simply irresponsible. For us as photographers, the same applies. If an animal alters its behavior in any way due to our presence, we should feel bad about it. I don't typically mention it but I get peeved when I see people post photos of "bird butts". Because ninety percent of the time that means they jumped the bird and made it fly, disturbing its feeding, nesting, etc. With a little patience and by paying attention it's easy enough to learn when animals are disturbed and we need to back off. Yeah like when they're running in front of a snowmachine or when birds jump up and fly directly away from you. Duh!!!

The only saving grace in the situation with the moose is that the idiot shot into the air rather than shooting the moose with a whimpy handgun. Which would have caused it to go off into the woods and die a slow, miserable death.

Hope I cheered everyone up...

[rtbaum]

I am glad that I made this post. The recent snowy owl invasion of the northern states has me question the ethics of those that will go to all ends to capture that perfect image by baiting the owls. Researchers have taken advantage of the irruption to live trap the owls and fit them with transceivers to track their every move. Birders and photographers had ready access to those same owls by merely uploading that data from a website. The researchers learned the hard way that there are unscrupulous falconers that then trap the owls for the open market. All perfectly legal because they have the necessary permits to trap birds of prey. It is a slippery slope out there my friends.