Dangerous Moose

The rattling of antlers rang up and down the canyon as two huge bull moose battled it out on a ridge east of Rexburg. The power of two animals, each weighing near a thousand pounds, was demonstrated by the flying dirt and brush as they powered into each other, trying to stab each other with the hardware they carried.

A third bull, missing an antler, stood nearby shifting his gaze from them to me as I climbed the opposite hill to get a better view of the fight. They were 100 yards away and with my truck between us, I felt safe. I was more concerned about a small bull near a cow with a calf that had come out of an aspen grove near the fighting behemoths.


Soon the observing bull turned its full attention on me; walking slowly past the fighters toward me. The wet hair on its back stood up and with its tongue and neck bell swinging back and forth down the hill he came. Slipping and sliding in the freshly fallen snow, I made it to the truck. He stopped about 25 yards away, grunting and licking his lips – indicating I was too close.

I was safe but did not want him punching one-antlered holes in my truck; I pounded on the hood making me sound dangerous and back up the hill he ran. The two fighters stopped for a moment, but one jabbed the other one in the backside and they were at it again. The fight soon ended as one lost his footing, fell, disappearing from my sight. The other two disappeared over the ridge. Dang it.

After three bulls disappeared I got back in the truck but saw the one that had lost it footing, peering over the ridge at me. As I drove up the road, I saw the other combatant running along the ridge toward the cow. She had no interest in him and ran away as he got close. “All that work for nothing,” I could imagine him saying as he watched the lady of his dreams kicking up the cold snow in his face as she left.

Generally the rut for moose is from the middle of September to late October when the bulls become very unpredictable, always competitive and often agitated. They need plenty of space from people or the wrath of a moose will come raining down on any humanoid that ventures too close.

I saw the bull that was turned down by the cow still pursuing one four days later – I kept my distance. He looked like he had lost his last battle with a gash on his forehead, missing hair and a bleeding wound on his side.

Some experienced outdoor enthusiasts claim the most dangerous animal in the fall is the bull moose while the most dangerous in the spring is a cow when she has a new calf. Moose have been known to attack cars, trucks, snowplows and they will destroy snowmobiles and ATV’s when cornered or pushed beyond their comfort zone. With their unpredictability and poor eyesight, you never know what to expect from them.

As winter approaches, area moose will be migrating from the mountains to the lower valley looking for the 100 pounds of daily food they need to sustain themselves. This means they are often found in populated areas feasting on ornamental plants.

So if you wake up one morning and find a moose sleeping under your favorite tree that is now a skinny skeleton of what it used to be; do not approach it to give it a swift kick; call the Department of Fish and Game. They are paid to wrestle such heathens – they have the equipment to put it to sleep while they haul it away to bother someone else.