Comments on: What to Do When Encountering a Moose While Hiking

By: Rowan in Idaho

Rowan in Idaho — Sun, 02 Oct 2022 21:00:00 +0000

I was on a trail run this morning in Idaho and was running between to mountains in an open meadow with trees on both side when a bull moose ran up to me. I paused and realized I had never read up on what to do in the case of a moose encounter, however I had read what to do in the case of a bear encounter and proceeded to unclip my hydration vest. I swung it around while making loud gutteral chimp sounds as he sat and stared at me. He flipped his head up and grunted, then I saw his female and calf run into the trees and he turned and followed. I then turned around and ran in terror as I continued to make loud chimp sounds in case anyone else thought of approaching me. Only now am I learning that is the exact opposite of what I should have done and feel REALLY lucky to have challenged the moose and won.

By: Bram

Bram — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 18:17:28 +0000

In reply to Liz. What an amazing experience, Liz! Good thing your dogs weren't with you, though, that could've ended differently. It's amazing how these gigantic animals can still remain virtually invisible. I ran into a moose at Jenny Lake in Grand Teton, which appeared seemingly out of nowhere. It also went about its business apparently without caring about my presence. I kept a decent distance, though!

By: Liz

Liz — Mon, 29 Aug 2022 19:29:19 +0000

A moose came right up on us in northern colorado near a mountain lake. He came out of some trees behind us and got within 10 feet. It was a very large, nearly black, Bull and it was the largest animal I’ve ever seen (outside of a zoo). He was very quiet and hard to notice and he noticed us before we noticed him and we quickly and calmly moved down the shoreline to get some distance from him. He drank from the lake and hung out for about 20 minutes before moving up the hill from the lake. We learned his routine over the course of our few days there and knew he would pop out for a drink about twice per day. It was very scary to be so close but he could’ve cared less about our presence. I am SO glad we did not have our rambunctious dogs with us at the time. I had JUST put them back in the camper not 15 minutes before.

By: Bram

Bram — Sat, 04 Jun 2022 17:49:01 +0000

In reply to Chase Sick. Glad you didn't get hurt, Chase. Even though they're so big, moose can be surprisingly quite and unnoticeable sometimes. Always stay alert!

By: Chase Sick

Chase Sick — Sat, 04 Jun 2022 02:28:15 +0000

My dogs and I were hiking near big sky Montana. Out of the blue a cow and her calf charged us. I dropped to the ground and protected myself while my dogs barked. I was lucky to get away with only a bloody nose while my dogs
avoided injury. Stay vigilant

By: Bram

Bram — Sun, 21 Nov 2021 04:03:00 +0000

In reply to Perry. Thanks for your comment, Perry! Seeing a moose is always a thrilling experience, but yes, it's also potentially very dangerous. Giving wild animals space is always a good idea.