Zealand Trail Moose Attack Warning

[TrishandAlex]

rocket21, thank you so much for the detailed report and the pictures.

Your description is what I have always imagined....we happen to see moose on trail, moose decides he/she doesn't want us on the trail, down goes the ears and the head, charge.

I've read up on what one is supposed to do -- get out of the way, behind something big if possible. If you find yourself knocked over/getting trampled try to curl up with hands over your head and stay down until moose goes away.

Your description reinforced the advice.

Your photos are fantastic. Consider offering them/selling them to NH Fish and Game or a wildlife book, it's a perfect example of moose-about-to-charge.

 

[rocket21]

I've read up on what one is supposed to do -- get out of the way, behind something big if possible. If you find yourself knocked over/getting trampled try to curl up with hands over your head and stay down until moose goes away.

To add to what's already been said:

a) Stay calm. There's no sense panicking, as it's unlikely to change events in your favor.

b) Don't turn your back!

c) (Which we didn't do, but should have) - beware of any other moose possibly nearby - just as the moose didn't like being sandwiched in from two groups, I doubt we would have liked being sandwiched in by two moose!

 

[forestgnome]

Sorry, Sabrina (Una dogger )

I guess I was a little too excited. I shouldn't have read more into any post that was written.

However, I can't possibly understand closing a trail because there's a moose in the area. That sounds way over the top. How about a notice at the trailhead about an incident? FS often does this when there is a lot of recent bear activity.

About the killing of the moose; one hiker I passed on the way said "I hope they don't have to euthanize it". I had to just keep going and bite my tongue. The thought of that for the sake of hikers, who enter into the moose's domain, because they are afraid of moose, makes me sick. I thought about that comment all day.

Sorry to ascribe that attitude to anyone else.

Rocket's picture is excellent! This is a textbook look at an unhappy moose. Just look at his facial expression. A moose that doesn't have a problem will generally not look at you much and the ears will be up, shifting around as he listens to the forest. His head will be up above the shoulders and he will look around in other directions.

Here we see the head lowered and the ears pinned, and he's staring with a fixed look. That looks scary to me. I would immediately back away and let him understand that you are not pursuing him, and use periferal vision to keep an eye on him. Avoid eye contact. Act like he is not the focus of your attention.

I saw exactly where this all took place, near the bogs. It would have been very easy to go around to the west, or even around the bogs. The story I heard about the girl who got bowled over was that the party was on skiis. The father was in front of her. They didn't get off the trail, but I don't know if they had any warning or if the bull came charging around the bend. However, the father jumped off the trail and just exposed the daughter to the charging bull. If that's how it happened, then I can't say much for the father.

Other than the trail closure idea, I agree with everything on this thread and I'm sorry that I was cranky over the "euthanize" comment I heard on the trail.

happy trails

 

[una_dogger]

No worries, F*G!

 

[rocket21]

The story I heard about the girl who got bowled over was that the party was on skiis. The father was in front of her. They didn't get off the trail, but I don't know if they had any warning or if the bull came charging around the bend. However, the father jumped off the trail and just exposed the daughter to the charging bull. If that's how it happened, then I can't say much for the father.

Just to clarify this story, I'm almost positive that the girl was skiing a minute or two ahead of the rest of the group. I think that perhaps some folks confused one of the hikers as being the girl's father. Hopefully one of the hikers who witnessed this won't have a problem with me posting what he wrote:

"I was the first on the seen to make sure she was okay....an unbelievable sight to see this 1000 pound animal standing 5 feet from her..while her skis were stuck in the snow....when I got to her and checked her out...she asked me to free up her skis...which I could only do so by completing picking her up in my arms...she was so sweet....but I am sure after the adrenalin wears off...she will understand the impact of the situation"

 

[Grumpy]

I don’t think calling for a trail closure is an appropriate response to this situation.

Partly, this stems from my rejection of the idea that the woods “belong” exclusively or even principally to the wild critters residing there. It is my belief that humans are part of the natural world, too, and have a legitimate place in the woods right along with the (other) wild things. The woods is our home, too.

However, I also believe that humans, having been given the power of reason, do bear a real responsibility to share the woods appropriately and deal with situations like the recent moose encounter intelligently, both for their own good and the sake of the wildlife.

Posting warning signs that moose may be encountered, and recap of appropriate human behavior in such encounters should be sufficient insofar as "official" response is concerned.

Great photos, rocket21! And good, instructive accounts of what happened in your encounter.

 

[rocket21]

My opinion on the trail usage - the AMC should warn it's guests about the matter until the moose moves on. Beyond that (and of course this thread), I don't think any action is necessary (unless of course the moose starts to show signs of something like rabies).

If you look at the precedence this would set, ie posting or closing a trail due to a moose being there, it would open up a can of worms. Would we need moose signs at every trailhead? Would people even bother to read them (certainly the verbal warnings we gave everyone were more likely to be understood rather than a moose warning sign)? Would trails get closed every time a moose was spotted? For how long? It's a sticky subject.

Every time you step out in the woods, you run the risk of something like this happening. Be as prepared and alert as you can possibly be. I've had moose encounters before (usually while solo hiking), but I still learn something new every time.

 

[Grumpy]

...

Every time you step out in the woods, you run the risk of something like this happening. Be as prepared and alert as you can possibly be. I've had moose encounters before (usually while solo hiking), but I still learn something new every time.

Great comment.

I must confess that knowing moose are around where I'm hiking makes me a tad "nervous."

But then, being "a tad nervous" lets me know I am alive!

G.

 

[--M.]

Wow, did we get to trail closures? Ixnay, if so. This is a good opportunity for old-fashioned NE yankee common sense: rational individual and group behavior without legislation.

Personally, if my agenda included these trails and I knew of a large group going through, I'd make a point not to be with them. The hut is a natural nexus; the croo will take it on themselves to educate congregants.

We followed moose track through Thoreau Falls; I wonder if it was this one? He led us a bit astray!

--M.

 

[Waumbek]

This thread is also a good opportunity for everyone to think through the ethics of their interactions with wild animals. (Yes, moose are wild, as Rocket 21 has so effectively reminded us.) We close trails for endangered or threatened wild life, peregrine falcons nesting, for instance, but moose are not "endangered" as such. This particular moose, however, was/is in "danger" of human crowding. That's enough for me. I'll stay off this trail voluntarily until I hear that the moose has moved on. I don't need to take close-up photos; I can look at Rocket's. I don't need to "talk" to this moose; he doesn't really need to hear whatever I would have to say. He just needs space. I can provide that. It's no big deal for me to choose another trail.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Territorial wildlife is not uncommon. I remember visiting Baxter SP at least twice when you were warned at the gate of either a territorial doe or moose in a specific area, and IIRC correctly one year there was one of each. Bluff charges from spruce grouse, usually male, are reported in the Whites nearly every year. One year one of them actually pecked the shoelaces of my friend's boots not far from the summit of Little Haystack.

I remember watching a territorial doe 'protect' an area near a specific picnic table at a rest stop along the highway near the Paradise VC in Rainier NP. She stomped her feet rather vigorously to warn people off. It worked, mostly, until one idiot human mother and her two kids decided to use the table despite seeing the deer's behavior. I didn't stick around to watch what happened next. It was like watching a train wreck in slow motion.

It's like watching people try to get close to bison in Yellowstone. Or elk in Rocky Mountain NP.

 

[rocket21]

I didn't stick around to watch what happened next. It was like watching a train wreck in slow motion.

Or modern day Rolling Stones tour

 

[AndyF]

There was an issue with some bear on the Great Gulf Trail this fall and they did not close the trail. They put up signs instead



which seems good enough. Basically venture at your own risk, which is always true when hiking.

 

[Amicus]

I first became aware that moose can be a hazard to hikers (vs. drivers) on a family vacation at Alaska's Denali Wilderness Lodge (a fly-in "hiking resort" 30 miles east of Denali NP), about six years ago. Prominent signs on their many hiking trails gave equal play to the dangers posed by bears (and they have grizzlies) and moose, with tips on what to do for each. (For a moose, as I recall, it was "get out of its way"). I think the signs said that people had been seriously hurt or killed by both species in that area.

 

[Mac]

Elk

It's like watching people try to get close to bison in Yellowstone. Or elk in Rocky Mountain NP.

Yeah. I just got back from Banff NP (Alberta). My host regaled me with stories of tourists in Canmore (just outside the park) attempting to place their children on the backs of Elk that had wandered into the town.

 

[DougPaul]

Yeah. I just got back from Banff NP (Alberta). My host regaled me with stories of tourists in Canmore (just outside the park) attempting to place their children on the backs of Elk that had wandered into the town.

I have seen a tourist stick a camera right in an elk's face in the yard of the Banff Hotel. It chased him away.

I've also seen a tourist with a camera back a small black bear cub up against a tree. Mama wasn't far away and came running.

Not everyone understands the concept of wild animal.

Elk and moose can be quite dangerous...

Doug

 

[Waumbek]

Not too long ago, it was considered an evening's entertainment to watch at close range the bears feeding on the open dumpster at the DQ is North Conway.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Wow, did we get to trail closures? Ixnay, if so. This is a good opportunity for old-fashioned NE yankee common sense: rational individual and group behavior without legislation.

We need every opportunity we can get for "old-fashioned NE yankee common sense: rational individual and group behavior without legislation." Both seem severely lacking these days and it makes me sad

Tim

 

[--M.]

Ah. "Keep yer chin up and try not to carp too much." Ain't that what they say?*

As long as we can still get out there and there are a few patriots to keep it real, it's all good.

Just go wide around the moose!


*"Never complain, never explain." --Henry Ford II

 

[DougPaul]

We need every opportunity we can get for "old-fashioned NE yankee common sense: rational individual and group behavior without legislation." Both seem severely lacking these days and it makes me sad

Common sense isn't so common.

Doug