Like all family holiday get-togethers, AR has seen some mild family infighting over the last weekend. Fortunately no one from here ended up at my clinic for stitches.

Appropos of nothing, here is a Christmas Moose story from an old friend's brother. It is obviously about a Shiras moose in the intermountain US West.

Seems this moose's mom croaked (I didn't ask if she got capped, run over, et by wolves, etc.) when he was small. With the advice and consent (and at the request) of F&G said moose was bottle fed. When it was time to bring the cows, cattle, heifers, calves, bull(s) and whatnot down from the higher pastures, said moose was turned out to find its own way in the world (a little chance being viewed as better than no chance). The cattle were driven, not trucked, because it wasn't a far jaunt down to the winter feed lot. Said moose decided he wanted to hang with his cow friends (maybe he thinks he are one - I don't know, nor do I anthropomorphize (sp?)).

In any case, our young hero is hanging in town this winter. Perhaps he will go up the mountain again in the spring, and keep going as his sap rises. Perhaps he will hang with the hood on summer pastures, and then go looking for moosie coochie in late September. Stay tuned..............









Merry Christ Moose, y'all.



LD

PS Stay out of his tub of rolled oats 'n honey. He'll stomp your ass for that.

PSS He doesn't have a name. This is the hard scrabble West, not the f*&%ing Disney Channel.

That reminds me - at one time LLBean sold a 1 lb piece of chocolate in the shape of a moose ,bought one for my GF. And there's someone in Sweden whos selling moose cheese VERY expensive !

those pictures were recently on an Alaskan hunting BBS and they claimed it was some where in AK. Hope this does not turn out to be an urban legend like the "new world record bear" that circled the net for a full 5 years!

In years past, many years past, there were attempts to domesticate moose for use as beasts of burden. Ultimately they didn't work out, but trhough these pictures you can see that in certain individual cases moose can be very calm around people. I had moose regularly bed-down in my yard when I lived in Alaska and they generally were unconcened about people around them...to a point. These pictures are cute but I don't like to see wild animals fed by people; it usually ends up bad for one, the other, or both.

quote:

those pictures were recently on an Alaskan hunting BBS and they claimed it was some where in AK. Hope this does not turn out to be an urban legend like the "new world record bear" that circled the net for a full 5 years!

I don't think so about Alaska. The landscape in the back ground reminds me of a spot near Kremmling, Colorado. I've never seen anything like that in my travels through Alaska. I can chase down the exact location pretty easily. I suppose I will have to now. I'll see if I can get a picture of the exact back deck, neighbors house and barn.

Look at the bright side Marc,
This isn't a "best", "biggest", "cutest" or "most talented" moose. It is just a moose. I do wonder though; what is his favorite flavor of ice cream?

quote:

In years past, many years past, there were attempts to domesticate moose for use as beasts of burden. Ultimately they didn't work out, but trhough these pictures you can see that in certain individual cases moose can be very calm around people. I had moose regularly bed-down in my yard when I lived in Alaska and they generally were unconcened about people around them...to a point. These pictures are cute but I don't like to see wild animals fed by people; it usually ends up bad for one, the other, or both.

There were two moose that fed in my pasture/swamp outside of Palmer, AK, when I lived there. As you mentioned, I was a non-entity to them (judging by their behavior).

I think things will work out fine in this story. These folks are pretty hard boiled, and know their way around wild and domestic animals pretty well.

Actually, every one I know that has spent a lifetime raising large animals of any kind has had things turn out badly for themselves and one of their livestock. I have a closet full of X-ray, CT and MRI reports that attest to that.

quote:

And there's someone in Sweden whos selling moose cheese VERY expensive !

Hi Mete,

I wonder if the high cost of the cheese is to cover the insurance premium for the person that has to milk the moose by hand ? Or maybee to pay for the alcohol that the "milker" has to drink before he is willing to try milking the moose?

Now all the story needs is an orphaned squirrel to befriend the moose.

In point of fact, it was not all that uncommon, 100 years ago, for people in rural northern Ontario and Quebec, to domesticate young moose and use them as beasts of burden. A friend has an old sepia-tone photo of his great, great grandfather with his two domesticated young moose, pulling a sleigh through about two feet of snow.

Too bad that the satellite dish, the mount being just visible in the last photo, is out of the frame. It would be easy to tell the latitude of the location simply by looking at the angle of the dish. From what little you can see of the dish it looks like it is pointed pretty low, indicating a more northerly location (but I really can't say for sure).

On the other hand, the season is obviuosly fall/winter (or early spring) and the angle of the shadows shows the sun to be pretty high for an Alaska location, so who knows?

quote:

Now all the story needs is an orphaned squirrel to befriend the moose.

I'm sure the coyote ate the squirrel.

I should have the name of the town in a couple hours. I have the names of the people, but obviously can't repeat them.

Stay tuned.

Looks like Goober Idaho. I can tell by the hills in the background. I think Hanks Doenut World is right down the street.

This kind of thing happens fairly regular in Alaska. Some people think it's cool - or something - I don't fully understand what they are thinking. On the positive side, I don't recall hearing or reading about anything bad happening, but perhaps others have. I don't think these pictures were taken in Alaska.

I wouldn't participate in that kind of thrill seeking, and I especially wouldn't expose my children or wife to such silliness. This kind of bahavior could lead to a very unhappy Christmas indeed. I don't mean to be offensive, just direct. Saying these people are pretty hard boiled, and know their way around wild and domestic animals, IMO is BS, because if they really knew what they were doing this is something they would avoid - like most of us would avoid kissing a brown bear on the lips, or petting that cute spot between his ears.

IMHO it is not maybe, it's a question of when trouble is going to happen, and I can hear the excuses now - oh it wasn't the moose's fault, somehow we made a mistake, etc.

These critters are not very smart, and go mostly on instinct. It's not love, or companionship with people that keeps it close - its food, however it may think fondly of the cows. When a good dose of testosterone kicks in, there is no way to predict what it will do next (or maybe there is predictability - can there be a cow/moose hybred?). Since it has no fear or inate respect for space between itself and people - oh well you can speculate.

I think that thing should be fattened up, and in the freezer by early August, unless it decides it's not a cow, and wants to live where wild moose live.

KB

here is where I saw the pictures and read the story 2 weeks ago:

pet moose story

There was a string on this Alaska Outdoor BBS:

ALsaka hunting BBS

As stated in my original thread, I hope this does not make a 5 year tour of the net as so many stories have. Eveyweek osme one new will say "hey I know this guy's first ex-wife's third cousin and this is in the Florida Keys..." and then the story gets embellished a little more

If you will notice, it is a good deal different than the story presented here on AR. I am sure when we hear it posted again it will be totally different. Kinda like when you are in elementary school and they put the class in a story and start a whispered story. By the time the originator hears it told back to them, it is all cocked up.

I did get a good laugh out of people pinpointing locations from the position of the Sun and the very small amount of terrain shown in the pics.

I have heard old FInns talk about trying to have working moose back in the old days. But, being FInns, they were usually drunk so I never took their word for it when they told me the time of day. You know how it is-we all love to have a good laugh at visitors from a totally foriegn land!

This is the kind of behavior that gets people nominated for the Darwin Awards. I think it would be worthy of at least Honorable Mention.

http://darwinawards.com/darwin/

I emailed the lady who has the blog in the link above. She replied and said she has no idea where any of it is, and then laughed and said "you know how the internet is!" A relative in the Southwest emailed her the link.

Here is another link to the story:

Buddy the moose story

It claims it is in AK, but who knows, it may be in Key West for all I know. Unforutnately, it looks like this story is growing legs, so we will see it for the next few years.

This is a lot less amusing than it is annoying. The pictures themselves are entertaining - from a Darwin Awards nominee perspective, but it is not fun to read fabricated or embellished print associated. The pictures say enough all by themselves, and it's better to not know who these people are.

I could be wrong (1% probability), but I would place good money on a bet that these pictures were not taken in Alaska. I would give three to one odds that there are no moose in Key West. (that's spelled moose, not meese)

The location is one of the western states, such as Utah, Idaho, Montana, or perhaps Wyoming, but it ain't Alaska.

I would also bet that Alaska F&G had nothing to do with this - in other words I'll bet that part of the story is an outright lie as well.

KB

I think it is pretty stupid too. I used to ccon hutn with a guy who had several pet whitetails. One time during the rut at age 2 1/2 one of the bucks, whom he raised in the pen, got him down and literally almost killed him. I always told him to be careful, but the deer were viewd as basically large house dogs.

Moose are CONSIDERABLY larger and stronger than any whitetail. On top of that, from my limited up close and peronal experieces experience with mooses, they are not what I would call "rocket scientists of the animal world." It is only a matter of time before "Buddy the Santa Moose" squashes some one like a bug.

And I say "mooses." I spent a lot of time in Finland and they all say "mooses" when speaking in English. My girlfriend always said that and I thought it sounded cute so I started saying it. It has the added benefit of pissing people off over here, so I kept it up. It is kinda like me giving people answers in meters or degrees C. I do it just for the aggravation factor.

Yes, I remember a similar incident with a whitetail buck in Georgia, which had been raised in captivity. When the rut was in, this little guy was of a different character and would gore a person if given the chance.

For me, seeing a bull moose in the wild is a memorable event. I remember watching one, antlers in velvet, in July, standing in a lilly pond, about mid-shoulder deep, eating off the bottom. He would dunk his whole head under water and come up with a mouth full of bottom salad, water draining off his ears. Cool.

Also seeing a big bull in September in the fog, across the bog is a thrill too.

When I lived on the Kenai Peninsula, I had a friend (yes I have friends) who claimed he could call bull moose in during the rut. I said prove it. So, just for the heck of it several times we went out to some prime places out Funny River Road, near Soldotna AK, along the Kenai River, during the prime of the rut in September, and early October one year.

My friend was telling the truth - he could call bull moose in. Yes, Bubbas live everywhere - hey ya'll, watch this - is a common phrase even in AK. The trouble was that we were doing it just for fun, not hunting, and it was often difficult to get the bull to leave, once he came to his call. They are just that stupid - even after seeing us, sometimes he would stay close by, raking his antlers on the spruce, grunting, etc.

Once, I didn't think we were going to escape withoug having to shoot. This big guy came in hot - he was ready to fight or f--k, maybe both. My friend did such a good job, calling and thrashing about, raking the spruce trees, etc., that he had that bull convinced that another bull was partying with one of the local cows.

That was more excitment than we expected. It is difficult to imagine being gored or mounted by a bull moose. I want no part of either. After much yelling, arm waving and retreating, we avoided getting hurt, or hurting the moose.

We got some good pictures though. I should dig them out some day, and make an album. I wish very much they were digital, so I could post them here.

KB

Kostroma Moose Farm, USSR

I haven't been able to track down the town in the pictures at the beginning of this thread. That makes me an irresponsible rumor mongerer, but we already knew that .

LD

quote:

Originally posted by Marc_Stokeld:
those pictures were recently on an Alaskan hunting BBS and they claimed it was some where in AK. Hope this does not turn out to be an urban legend like the "new world record bear" that circled the net for a full 5 years!

Shiras Moose = NOT Alaska!

Fall 2006 in upstate NY, a man with "pet" whitetails was killed by one of those "tame" deer.

Hard-boiled? This is from Mark Stok's link He probably thinks he is a cow. Everyone was happy to see him and he is quite friendly. He loves honey buns and will eat them right out of your mouth.

WTF is with these people?

El D-

We do not know what kind of moose it is or where it is. Claims have been made that it was in AK and claims heave been made it was in the Lower 48. WHo knows. It is another internet story where you get different "facts" depending on who you are talking to that day. It may very well be a Shiras moose, but as of right now, we don't know for sure. It would take some very convincing evidence to convince me exactly where it was.

I'm near Pinedale Wyoming, and in the last fifteen years or so, there have been three or four such moose/rancher lady, or moose/wannabee rancher lady pictures put up on the info boards at local cafes, hardware stores etc.. not so impressive if given a little reasonable fore-thought.. just my opinion.. Les