Close Encounters of the Moose Kind

On a pleasant Alaska evening in June, with daylight until 1am, we decided to go for a walk in the woods at Hillside, just on the edge of town. All was well until we met this moose, who lurked at the side of the path. Not wishing to disturb it, we doubled back, only to find it followed us, gathering pace as it got closer.

Rather than take a chance it might charge us, we nipped behind a telegraph pole, because a person can run round a tree trunk or pole faster than a moose, so it is a good way of avoiding a kicking.

This shot was taken from behind the pole, and there may be a bit of camera shake for obvious reasons. The camera does not portray the sheer size of the moose - it was about 6ft from the ground to its shoulder.

It held us captive for 10 minutes, not daring to move from our cover. At last it wandered off with a few menacing looks back at us.

We had to take the long way back to avoid meeting it again. The forest is a scary place when you are jumping at every sound!

Alan & Sylvia