N.L. snowmobilers rescue moose buried neck-deep in snow
DEER LAKE, N.L. — A group of snowmobilers pulled out their shovels to free a stuck moose after spotting its head poking out of freshly fallen snow in western Newfoundland.
Jonathan Anstey, who owns a snowmobile-riding clinic, said he and about seven other riders set out on the trails near Deer Lake, N.L., on Saturday. For the first time in two weeks, the terrain was blanketed in a thick layer powder.
As they veered off the main road, the group spotted a moose neck-deep amid the white expanse, buried in about two metres of snow.
“We knew the moose was stuck really good,” he said in an interview on Wednesday. “He tried several times to get himself out of the hole, but he wasn’t getting anywhere.”
Anstey said the moose appeared to have gotten stuck in a bog hole and was trying to climb out, but its hind legs seemed to be firmly stuck in the snow.
“When a moose gets distressed, they pin their ears back, their hair stands up on their back, and they lick their lips a lot,” he said. “You could tell he was extremely distressed.”
He said some members of his group grabbed shovels and walked around to the rear of the moose, where they figured they would be safe from the animal’s thrashing.
“After he realized he wasn’t moving, he just kind of stopped and lay down,” Anstey said.
After a few minutes of digging, the riders had carved out a path behind the moose, and one of the snowmobilers rode up to the animal to coax it to turn around.
“The moose actually realized it had footing on solid ground and managed to pull himself out of the hole,” he said.
The liberated moose hung around for a bit to dry off, Anstey said, occasionally looking at its rescuers as if to say “a little thank you” before trotting away.
Even though this is his second moose rescue, Anstey said he tries not intervene in animal affairs. “We’d like to be known as a back-country riding clinic and not a moose rescuer.”