A moose facing “certain death” got a helping hand from prospectors Maurice Valliere and Pat Greba who were alerted to the wild animal’s muddy predicament by a friend.
The two men were told that a moose was stuck in the mud out in the woods near the northeastern Ontario town of Timmons in Canada where they live. The moose’s head was the only part of him remaining above the surface of the muddy hole.
The men initially tried contacting the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry, but after an hour of trying with no response they determined they would have to try and save the moose themselves.
When Greba and Valliere arrived to where the moose was stuck they could see the moose was desperately struggling to free himself.
“He was buried right up to his head … he was fighting, and fighting, and fighting just to keep his head out of the mud,” Valliere told CBC News.
The men figured they might be able to free the moose by using some strong straps and Greba’s Argo ATV to pull the animal out. It’s lucky that the moose was male and had antlers to attach their straps to, otherwise the moose would not have been able to be freed.
Thankfully their solution worked and they successfully pulled the moose out of his muddy prison. The moose quickly got up and bolted off, one of the straps still attached to one of his antlers.
Moose are very large animals with adults ranging between 5 to 7 feet (1.5 to 2 meters) tall from hoof to shoulder. When they are standing they can be as tall as 10 feet. Males weigh an average of 790 to 1,330 pounds (360 to 600 kilograms). Because of their size they can be dangerous to approach. But this did not deter Greba and Valliere who said they did what many of the folks in Timmins would do.
“We didn’t think it was that much of a big deal because everyone in Timmins would have probably went out and helped,” Valliere told the Canadian new broadcaster. “We all love our animals here.”
Their friend, Bill Desloges, posted pictures of the animal’s rescue to Facebook where it has since been shared thousands of times. Desloges commended what they did, writing: “Thanks to my 2 prospector friends…this moose is back on the loose. They worked hard to help rescue this moose from certain death….Way to go guys!!!”
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