It’s not often in America that you must worry about being attacked by wildlife in your own backyard, but Anchorage is an exception. The city is loaded with moose, particularly in the wintertime, and if you’re stupid enough to step outside your home without looking around first, it could be curtains for you. They set up housekeeping in the suburbs long ago and aren’t about ready to leave, since urban living suits them just fine. Where else can you find tasty ornamental bushes and trees to eat and no wolf packs to worry about?
Years ago, a woman heard a dog barking behind the house where she was staying and stepped out to see what was wrong. A moose stomped her to death. The same thing happened to a college professor who bumped into one on campus. Folks think they look clumsy and slow, but they’re anything but. They are cat-quick and can kick with all four feet at once, killing their victims with lightning blows.
Almost a dozen Anchorage residents are injured each year by moose, mostly because of carelessness or their dogs decided to chase one and the moose would have none of it. To the owner’s horror, he or she see his or her dog running back for protection from a pissed off monster weighing 1,000 pounds. Not a healthy situation under any circumstance.
Once I got a call from a fellow about his floatplane being damaged on Lake Hood, the world’s largest seaplane base that’s an integral part of the Anchorage International Airport. I left my office only to learn a rutting bull moose had vented its frustration on a half dozen airplanes tied down around the lake. The damage was awesome—twisted tail assemblies, bashed in sheet metal, and ripped fuselage fabric. Several airplane owners were facing big repair bills.
Stay away from Alaska’s largest ungulate if you know what’s good for you.
Years ago, a woman heard a dog barking behind the house where she was staying and stepped out to see what was wrong. A moose stomped her to death. The same thing happened to a college professor who bumped into one on campus. Folks think they look clumsy and slow, but they’re anything but. They are cat-quick and can kick with all four feet at once, killing their victims with lightning blows.
Almost a dozen Anchorage residents are injured each year by moose, mostly because of carelessness or their dogs decided to chase one and the moose would have none of it. To the owner’s horror, he or she see his or her dog running back for protection from a pissed off monster weighing 1,000 pounds. Not a healthy situation under any circumstance.
Once I got a call from a fellow about his floatplane being damaged on Lake Hood, the world’s largest seaplane base that’s an integral part of the Anchorage International Airport. I left my office only to learn a rutting bull moose had vented its frustration on a half dozen airplanes tied down around the lake. The damage was awesome—twisted tail assemblies, bashed in sheet metal, and ripped fuselage fabric. Several airplane owners were facing big repair bills.
Stay away from Alaska’s largest ungulate if you know what’s good for you.
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