Treed by Moose

Bull Moose Treed by Moose
October 5, 1991

Anchorage has a coastal trail that goes around the peninsula. It traverses a wilderness between the city and the water. We went walking one crisp, golden autumn day, looking for moose. The rutting season was near, and the leaves were falling, so it's one of the best times to see them. We were told about a couple of bulls having a tussle down the trail, so went looking for them. They'd disappeared. We searched the trees and bushes, and I finally spotted two ears. We stealthily moved closer. It was a small cow, resting. She looked at us but seemed unconcerned, so we continued to move closer. Then Dennis said, "Look over there!" Just behind her over a little knoll were a pair of huge antlers, moving. We sat and watched and waited, thinking something might happen.

After awhile, we went back to the trail and walked down a ways. We saw the bull again, and couldn't resist moving closer. We got to within 30 feet of it and waited and watched breathlessly, an escape plan in mind. Then we heard something behind us. A cow was walking on the trail. Unlike the others, she seemed quite interested in us and began coming directly toward us, occasionally flattening her ears. We clambered up the trees and held on. The little cow came within three feet of my foot. Would she bite? No, she seemed more interested than aggressive. A small bull followed the cow, and circled behind us. We were surrounded by moose! Another bull showed up and the big one was roused. He stood up, making threatening noises. The small bulls moved away. At one time, all five of them were within a radius of 40 feet.

Our arms and legs were aching, but we were fascinated, breathless. The big bull came closer, turning his head sideways to wrestle his 60" rack through the brush. He was blind in one eye, and we were on his blind side. If Dennis had had a camera, he could have gotten me in the tree with the big bull behind me. Wouldn't that have been a photo!

Eventually, the moose were all behind us and an avenue of escape was open. We descended and hurried quietly back to the trail. The big bull followed us! We moved more quickly, planning to duck under a bridge just a ways up the trail. He wasn't charging, and the brush was slowing him down. He broke out onto the trail, looked at us, and ambled the other way, seemingly unconcerned and unthreatened.