Here’s something you should absolutely never do! This is an older video, posted to YouTube in 2018, but given how often I’ve seen moose encounters popping up on the internet recently, and seeing how this just wandered onto the front page of my YouTube, I thought I’d share the monstrosity that is “Friendly moose experience”.
Does this seem like a super cool experience? Absolutely. Is it something anyone should ever do? Absolutely not.
If you see a moose, Alaska.org has several recommendations:
- Talk calmly and back away slowly. Give the beast at least 50 feet of space.
- Keep dogs leashed and don’t let them get near the moose. Dogs can very easily provoke them.
- NEVER get between a moose and her calf.
- Don’t yell, throw things, or feed the moose. They may happily accept the food, but they’re known to get aggressive afterwards.
- Watch for the ears dropping back, hair raising, grunting, or stomping feet. Those are all warning signs that the moose may attack.
- Get behind something, anything, to separate you from the moose. A car, a tree, a large rock, anything like that will help to protect you from an attack.
- If attacked, play dead, curl up with your hands on the back of your neck, and hope your backpack will work as a shield.
Image Credit: SIGP2101 on YouTube