Interesting interactions between humans and moose don’t happen only in Canada, of course. They just happen there a lot more often than in other places. Here are a few examples.
MOOSE! An RCMP officer was driving down a rural road in northern British Columbia at around 1 a.m. one night in October 2012, when two moose—a bull and a cow—appeared out of the woods and began to cross the road. There was a car coming the other way, so the Mountie, trying to ensure that the driver of the other car saw the gigantic, car-destroying creatures in the road, drove up close to the animals so his headlights would reveal them. That, apparently, annoyed the bull moose. It charged the Mountie’s car and jumped on its hood, kicking off the bumper and smashing the grill in doing so. Then it jumped on the car’s roof, breaking the windshield on the way. Atop the car now, and still kicking furiously, it then somehow smashed out the car’s driver side window, and managed to kick the mountie in the shoulder. The moose then jumped off the back of the car, and, according to an RCMP statement, “Both the culprit and accomplice departed the area on hoof.” They were not seen again. The Mountie was okay. “Although they are likely more scared of people than we are of them,” the RCMP statement concluded, “we believe our officer would disagree.”
MOOSE! In July 2013, Chris Nicholas of St. John’s, Newfoundland, posted a video to YouTube showing his front yard, and the street in front of his house at night. In the silent, black-and-white video, lights can be seen coming from the right of the screen. Then a moose appears. It nonchalantly runs down the middle of the road, and past the house. A few seconds later, a police car appears, all its lights blazing. Driving very slowly, it follows after the moose, and disappears to the left of the screen. Some seconds later, more lights are seen coming from the right of the screen. A second moose appears. It nonchalantly runs by the house. A few seconds later a second police car appears, all its lights flashing, slowly following after the second moose. Nicholas wrote a note to accompany the video: “Police chasing two moose up my street. Pretty standard Newfoundland sight I suppose.” Police later told reporters that the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officers engaged in the “slow-speed pursuit” of the moose through the streets of St. John’s for several hours, until wildlife officials were finally able to shoot the moose with tranquilizers, after which they were released back into the wild.
Second-hand mattresses are banned in Canada, unless you have a certificate verifying cleanliness.
WHAT MOOSE?! On the evening of May 7, 2012, Michelle Higgins of Norris Arm, Newfoundland, was driving down the TransCanada Highway, on her way to her night shift job in Gander. When she arrived at work about a half an hour later, her co-workers immediately rushed outside. They asked her if she was okay, she asked why, and they replied, “You’re bleeding—and look at your car! The hood had several dents in it, the entire windshield was completely caved in, and the roof was torn back to the back seat. “The roof was like a sardine can!” Higgins said. “I thought, ‘this is impossible!’”—because she had no memory of being in an accident. Her co-workers got her to a hospital, where she was diagnosed with two fractured vertebrae in her neck, along with what became extensive bruising of her face.
Meanwhile, police found a massive, and unfortunately dead, moose along the side of the highway. Higgins had hit the animal, taking the full impact of the huge beast in her windshield . . . and had simply continued driving . . . for 25 miles. That included driving through one small town, going through traffic lights, and making three turns. And she arrived at work on time. And she still remembers absolutely nothing about it. Higgins made an appeal to the public, asking if anyone saw someone driving a completely smashed-up car that evening. “I’d like to know,” she explained to reporters, “if I was driving safely.”
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PORKY’S 2
In related animal poop news, scientists at the University of Guelph have genetically engineered a less-polluting pig that they have dubbed enviropig. The genetically modified swine can digest more of the phosphorous in its food, thereby reducing the amount of harmful phosphorous in its manure.
July 28, 1981: A severe hailstorm in Calgary caused $150 million of property damage.