Pete the Moose...

[Yukon]

Don't know if anyone on here has been following the story of Pete the Moose or not, my fiancee and I have been. Anyway, he gets to live!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100521/ap_on_re_us/us_pete_the_moose

[Adayak]

Great story - I hadn't heard of it yet. Glad Pete gets to live and is soon to be a proud father.

One thing I don't understand is why they use the word "destroy" when talking about putting the moose down? All I can picture is someone launching a grenade at him.

[Mountain Wildman]

Never heard of him, But we have plenty of moose up here!!

[sheepdog]

don't believe in moose

[JAK]

The Bull Moose

Down from the purple mist of trees on the mountain,
lurching through forests of white spruce and cedar,
stumbling through tamarack swamps,
came the bull moose
to be stopped at last by a pole-fenced pasture.

Too tired to turn or, perhaps, aware
there was no place left to go, he stood with the cattle.
They, scenting the musk of death, seeing his great head
like the ritual mask of a blood god, moved to the other end
of the field, and waited.

The neighbours heard of it, and by afternoon
cars lined the road. The children teased him
with alder switches and he gazed at them
like an old, tolerant collie. The woman asked
if he could have escaped from a Fair.

The oldest man in the parish remembered seeing
a gelded moose yoked with an ox for plowing.
The young men snickered and tried to pour beer
down his throat, while their girl friends took their pictures.

And the bull moose let them stroke his tick-ravaged flanks,
let them pry open his jaws with bottles, let a giggling girl
plant a little purple cap
of thistles on his head.

When the wardens came, everyone agreed it was a shame
to shoot anything so shaggy and cuddlesome.
He looked like the kind of pet
women put to bed with their sons.

So they held their fire. But just as the sun dropped in the river
the bull moose gathered his strength
like a scaffolded king, straightened and lifted his horns
so that even the wardens backed away as they raised their rifles.

When he roared, people ran to their cars. All the young men
leaned on their automobile horns as he toppled.

- Alden Nowlan

[Pedaling Fool]

I saw a show about moose last night on Discovery. At the end they talked about car-moose accidents; I already knew that was a problem, but not to the extent that they reported.

And it's not just a problem here in North America, it's also a problem in Europe and Russia.

Here in N. America Newfoundland seems to be the capital of moose-vehicle collisions, they average about 2 per day.

Here's an article concerning the problem in Sweden: http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/09/02/moose-under-fire-in-sweden-shoot-to-kill-and-cull-campaign/


Moose Under fire in Sweden:
Shoot to Kill and Cull Campaign

Officials in Sweden have introduced a shoot to kill and cull campaign in an effort to reduce the amount of vehicle accidents and damage to forests due to the growing number of moose in the country. 42 people have been killed and almost 2,000 people have been injured in road collisions involving moose over the past five years.

Moose Shoot-to-Kill Campaign

According to the Scotsman (http://news.scotsman.com/world/Swedes-bring-in-shoottokill-policy.5607874.jp), officials report more than 90 collisions involving wildlife occur each day on Sweden’s roadways. More than 2,500 moose-vehicles collisions have occurred so far in 2009 according to statistics from the National Wild Accident Council, on behalf of the National Police. The report (http://www.nationellaviltolycksradet.se/)also shows more than 18,000 collisions with deer occurred during the same time frame. A total of 23,000 wildlife-vehicle collisions have occurred so far this year.

The new shoot to kill campaign allows local hunters to track down a moose and shoot it after it has been involved in a vehicle collision.


Moose Cull Campaign


The cull campaign will also reduce forest damage created by the moose. Aspen, pine and oak trees are being destroyed by the moose, according to an expert at Sweden’s Forest Agency.

With a moose population of nearly 300,000, the cull campaign will include shooting up to 50,000 calves and 50,000 adults during hunting season, between September and January. Culled moose can be sold for up to £1,700, about $2,700 US.




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