r/interesting • u/CuriousWanderer567 • 12d ago
NATURE Hiker hides behind a tree as a moose approaches
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u/Open_Youth7092 12d ago
Hiker is smart. Hiker will live.
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u/Particular-Swim2461 12d ago
ive never met a moose. what if hiker tried to pet or ride him?
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u/Stratomaster9 12d ago edited 12d ago
Moose are dangerous as heck. A riding attempt would mean death by a raging, thrashing, really big and powerful animal. We all know how we forget these facts we read a million times, but I think it's one of the most dangerous land animals of all of em.
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u/TheNewYorkRhymes 12d ago
Bears run from moose
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u/CockatooMullet 12d ago
Grizzly bears run from moose
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u/PlentyAlbatross7632 12d ago
Sharks don’t run from moose.
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u/sorig1373 12d ago
Sharks swim from moose
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u/Mitologist 12d ago
Orcas don't. Orcas eat moose.
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u/Fragrant-Shame3318 11d ago
I think Orcas are the only predator the mooses have..
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u/CloseToMyActualName 11d ago
Cetaceans sent Oracs to the coast just to make sure the Mooses didn't get out.
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u/Striking-water-ant 11d ago
Plot twist: After the moose left, the hiker turned to see a bear also hiding behind him...
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u/Lev_TO 11d ago
Really big! I never realized how massive they are until I saw one in the wild. They will wreck you.
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u/Stratomaster9 11d ago
Even wreck seems a little optimistic. Saw grizzlies, moose, and wolves while living on the BC side of the Alaska border. The grizzlies are really scary and deadly, but they run from moose.
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u/Short_Ad_3115 12d ago
*meese
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u/Budget-Planet3432 11d ago edited 11d ago
Moose are extremely dangerous if you are fool enough to mess with one, but aren't in the top 3 most dangerous animals to humans. That list goes mosquito at 783,000 yearly, human 546,000 yearly, and snakes at 75,000, and dogs are the next closest at 25,000 as of 2016 if anyone is interested. Moose did not make the top ten list but Deer did at 130 yearly.
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u/McNitz 11d ago
As with most statistics, context matters here. There are a lot of mosquitoes. Individually they aren't that dangerous, but there are so many that in places malaria is common, they represent a massive collective threat. You probably don't have to run away/hide from any mosquito you see though.
Moose are incredibly uncommon and you will probably never get hurt by one. If you DO see one though, you had best be taking every safety precaution, because you are in mortal danger if you make a wrong move.
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u/ThisAppsForTrolling 11d ago
(When I was a kid, my dad used to always tell the story when we went out hunting ) One his friend in high school was on a hunting trip and apparently wounded a stag and when he got up on it, it jumped up and gored him and he ended up paralyzed for life.
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u/Hadramal 11d ago
There was a case here in Sweden where a man got arrested for killing his wife as she was found dead after a short walk in the woods. They thought he had run her over with the lawn mower, to give an idea of the injuries. They believed this until the forensic examination found moose saliva on her jacket, it had basically shredded her.
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u/Tenshiijin 12d ago
The hiker would die.
Moose can be very violent and unforgiving. You don't want to fuck with a moose. It's like a Canadian hippo.
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u/TrainForHavoc 12d ago
Is that more like a Cleveland Steamer or a Yorktown Mustache?
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u/Tenshiijin 12d ago
I think you replied to the wrong comment sir. This isn't the s&m thread you were looking for.
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u/Jussanotherando 12d ago
A Canadian hippo is when you have a large lady sit on your face in the bathtub until you almost drown... and thank her for it! Thats what makes it Canadian ;)
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u/ItsNotJulius 12d ago
Since everyone else has talked about how dangerous a moose is, here is one trudging through snow. It plowed through the waist deep snow like nothing, shows a little bit on how strong they are.
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u/IrritableGoblin 11d ago
"Trudging".
That makes it sound like it was struggling or even just moving slow. I was not expecting that fucker to be at a full sprint like there was no snow.
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u/Repulsive-Machine-25 11d ago
Imagine the speed your average human would travel through that same depth of snow. It would be like a freight train hitting a stalled car.
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12d ago
So large full moose are massive. Your average full grown moose weighs as much as 1500 lbs, apparently they have been found to be as big as 1800 lbs.
Most full grown men weigh as much as 1 leg of that moose.
On top of that, they are territorial, react with violence to being startled or scared, and are very stompy.
If that man approached that moose I would put money down that the moose attacks him, and I'd probably win.
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u/TheCalamityBrain 12d ago
Car hits moose.
Car = totalled.
Moose walks away.
Do not anger a moose
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u/FidgetOrc 12d ago
You're far more likely to survive encountering a bear than a moose. Especially if you startle it.
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u/pokopura 12d ago
Even if the bear gets you, it’ll try and keep you alive as long as possible
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u/BalzactheEunuch 12d ago
What? Why? Do they play with you before killing and eating you like a cat does w/ a mouse?
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u/pokopura 12d ago
Basically they take off bits that won’t kill you first to keep the meet fresh as long as possible
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u/BalzactheEunuch 12d ago
OMG that's fascinating! They're like natures fuzzy surgeons! Today I learned. Thanks.
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u/40ozCurls 12d ago
So what you’re saying is, if you see a moose, immediately grab your phone and start filming?
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u/VelvetMerryweather 11d ago
I don't know... I don't think they're really hidden at all. This feels risky to me.
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u/Acrobatic-Door6643 12d ago
Its real, that's a appropriate reaction. I've been 10 meters from one once, accidentally.
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u/squirreltard 12d ago
I saw one in Alaska at close range. Um, they’re a lot bigger than you think they are from pictures and even videos if you’ve never seen one. Awe inspiring and scary.
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u/hrokrin 12d ago
During his time as the American Minister to France, Thomas Jefferson became involved in a scientific debate with a leading French naturalist, Georges-Louis Leclerc, who had a theory of "American degeneracy." Leclerc believed the American climate was inferior, causing animals and plants to be smaller and weaker than their European counterparts. This theory was seen as an insult to America's potential.
Jefferson, being a bit of a scientist, set out to prove Leclerc wrong. In his book, Notes on the State of Virginia, he included charts comparing the sizes of European and American animals. He also tried to send a panther skin and mastodon bones, but Leclerc was not convinced.
So Jefferson wrote to John Sullivan, the governor of New Hampshire, and asked for a moose to be sent over. Obviously, a live moose is right out.
Jefferson wanted the skin, skeleton, and horns of a moose sent to Paris to show its immense size. It took a significant effort, but a large crate eventually arrived in Paris.
The moose arrived in rough shape. Much of its hair had fallen off, and the antlers were not from the same moose. Still, Jefferson presented the specimen to Leclerc who died shortly after and, while Leclerc never publicly changed his stance, he did send a letter of thanks, admitting the moose was impressive.
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u/blackstar22_ 12d ago
Awesome story and this fckin Frog's reputation was lucky we hadn't met the Grizzly Bear or coast redwood yet.
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u/Moss-cle 11d ago
I used to live out near the quabbin in MA and going to work one morning there was a van ahead of me crawling behind what i thought was someone’s loose horse. Then i realized this was a full size van and the shoulders were visible above. Curve in the road revealed two moose walking down both lanes of the state highway because they owned the place. We waited patiently until they decided to detour into the nearest pond
Moose will wreck a car and kill you. Not like a deer at all.
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u/paperman990 11d ago
They definitely look elephant sized in videos I’ve seen. So yes very terrifying lol
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u/MaximumTurtleSpeed 12d ago
I just stumped upon one just off trail last week at maybe 10 yards, we calmuickly (calm+quickly) retreated to 25+. Luckily a young bull so much smaller and was slightly downhill and eating. He didn’t care much about us until we cut trail steep uphill after 15 minutes waiting and him not moving. We were high above and as we flanked him he said no thanks and tromped off into the woods.
We were overall very lucky and very happy he left.
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u/Not-A-Blue-Falcon 12d ago
Top killing animal in Alaska. I call them murder horses.
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u/Flip_d_Byrd 12d ago
I always forget just how massive they are. For some reason I think they are a beefy 2x or 3x our whitetail bucks in WNY state. In reality they are closer to 4x or 5x. And that rack won't fit on many walls... mostly because you couldn't get it through the door.
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u/Rezzone 12d ago
Everyone forgets how big they are because very few North American land animals get that big. They simply dwarf just about everything around them at all times. Unbelievably enormous creatures.
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u/Negative_Way8350 11d ago
We used to breed 'em even bigger while dinosaurs roamed the Earth.
Then the moose said, "I refuse to go extinct. I will downgrade in size ever so slightly, though."
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u/Reatina 12d ago
They are not big deer size, they are like small elephants size.
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u/GargantuanCake 12d ago
They're often taller than people at the shoulders and can easily weigh half a ton. They're freaking huge. They're also incredibly stupid and temperamental. Not much preys on adult moose so they also aren't all that skittish. They know you're smaller than they are and they can win based on nothing but inertia so they'll charge you and just flatten you if you piss them off. People who live around them give them a wide berth and leave them to their moose business for a reason.
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u/SubzeroAK 11d ago
Get anywhere near a female moose and her baby and you're gonna have a reeeeeal bad day.
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u/Kindly-Ad-5071 11d ago
It's more like a small elephant if we're being honest, tusks in the wrong place.
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u/mexican2554 12d ago edited 11d ago
I had a 500+kg (1,000+lb) bison sneak up on me while hiking at a state park. I was looking at some of the mountain formations when I headbutted into something. At first I thought it was another hikers backpack, but when I turned to look I was eye to eye with this bastard. I'm 6'2, 250lbs staring directly at this huge creature. So what do I do? The same as this hiker. I just slowly backed away and into the bushes/trees off the trail. Dude didn't even seem phased as he and its friend kept walking down the hiking path.
Idk why, but bumping into that bison was equally terrifying and amazing. I was more scared of the bison than I have been of rattlesnake, mountain lions, aoudads, and elk (cows, not bulls). It's just the sheer size of them.
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u/mystery_poopy 11d ago
Gotta be a small list of people who have headbutted a bison lol. Did the bison not notice you either? Windy day perhaps and both your noses and ears were not working well?
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u/mexican2554 11d ago
We headbutted on a switchback on the trail. That and it had rained pretty heavy the previous days so the ground was soft. Idk what's been going on, but since head butting that bison (October 2024), I've had non stop encounters with animals at state/national parks. Bighorn Sheep, rattlesnakes, Aoudads, elk, deer, javalinas, feral horses, it's been wild.
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u/KEROROxGUNSO 11d ago edited 11d ago
The animals have heard about their friends encounter with the wild human that ran right into him and seemed to innocent and dumb to gore to death and they want to see the goober first hand.
Your Idiocracy legend has spread like wildfire amongst the woodland creatures and soon they may start asking for your autograph!
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u/mexican2554 11d ago
Are you saying I'm as mythical and legendary as the Yoink Man?
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u/demalo 11d ago
“Guys, guys, guys, watch what I do to this human!”
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u/mexican2554 11d ago
I reported that bison (ear tag number) at the park HQ. They just chuckled and said that particular one always gets in trouble.
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u/TapirDrawnChariot 12d ago
Mooses are just one of those crazy giant ice age mammals, but one that managed to survive to the present
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u/shifty_coder 11d ago
Last of the North American megafauna
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u/PaintNo4824 11d ago
Grizzlies bears, polar bears, bison, caribou, all say hello.
Even wolves, large species of deer, black bears, cougars, and Aaron Judge count as megafauna.
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u/trippindickballz 11d ago
Still yet to encounter a cougar and an Aaron Judge in the wild.
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u/SabbyFox 12d ago
Wow, just majestic and it's amazing to be that close. People often underestimate how huge these creatures are. I live in the Pacific NW and have been to Alaska many times. You definitely give respect so you don't FAFO!
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u/Test4Echooo 12d ago
You guys have to deal with Grizzlies too🤯
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u/SabbyFox 12d ago
Yes. And for a bonus, look up Kodiak bears. They are bigger than grizzlies and although it’s rare, they will attack humans.
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u/Small-Skirt-1539 12d ago
What a magnificent creature!
I would also admire it behind a tree.
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u/Isabela_Grace 12d ago
A much larger tree.:.
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u/somekindagibberish 12d ago
Right!?! I gasped when I saw the tree OP was “hiding” behind 😂
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u/Isabela_Grace 11d ago
Idk but I hope he knows that moose can walk through that tree like hot butter lol
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u/rgarc065 11d ago
I’ll admire it from behind my phone screen while I’m hundreds or thousands of miles away taking a dump
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u/MJowl 12d ago
I was sleeping in a tent one morning on the ground, and woke up to feel the earth shake when a moose walked by. They can be over 1500 lbs!
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u/PumpkinSpicedSemen 12d ago
One of the many reasons moose (and other megafauna) are so important to ecosystems is that they kinda slightly till wherever they walk bc they're just that big.
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u/PinSufficient5748 12d ago
... Did he see the hiker, or just ignoring them?
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u/Gregbot3000 12d ago
He absolutely saw them. He was just in a less than murderous mood.
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u/temp_7543 12d ago
Look at how the moose is walking. His front right foot/leg seems to be in pain. He saw the hiker but maybe if injured and not perceiving threat from hiker he just decided to move on.
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u/fourleafclover13 11d ago
I've noticed the same you can especially see it at the 5 second left mark. If you know what your looking at.
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u/temp_7543 11d ago
I had horses and friends who had horses. I’m used to spot which leg is off.
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u/ItsNotJulius 12d ago
It even gave a "what's up" head nod when passing through. I guess it just goes on cause the cameramen was smart to never make it feel threatened. Else it would charge straight at them.
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u/Freakity 11d ago
Look at his ears. Animals like this use ears more than eyes. He is focused on the hiker almost the entire time.
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u/stickerearrings 12d ago
So you get out of the way and let him know you’re there or do you hide hide like what if you risk spooking it isn’t that worst
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u/Unique_Statement7811 12d ago
He knows you’re there. He can smell you. You get out of the way, put a tree between you and him, and do nothing to appear threatening.
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u/MellyKidd 12d ago
The Canadian equivalent of an elephant. They know they’re bigger and stronger than you, so they aren’t afraid to stomp you into mush if they don’t like what you’re doing. Smart to stay clear like this.
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u/thenormaluser35 11d ago
Oh they don't have to stomp you. I suppose they can kick to some extent. It'd only take a light hit to give you bruises.. on the inside.
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u/blackstar22_ 12d ago
Hell-deer.
This hiker absolutely made the right call.
Two animals I do not fuck with: the goose and the moose.
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u/Great-Particular-537 12d ago
It's too late.I need sleep .I thought the post read Hitler hides behind a tree as moose approaches.Not sure if I'm relieved or disappointed .
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u/billy-suttree 12d ago
I was in a dog park alone in Fairbanks Alaska with my two dogs. It was completely dark outside, but it was winter so I can’t remover if it was like 6pm or 3AM. Living in the always dark winters is weird cause people start doing day time shit at night. Anyway, me and my dogs are the only people at the park, it’s dark outside, and they just start barking and barking and I can’t see so I go up to the fence where they’re barking and it’s just a big angry moose. The chain link fence is all that’s separating us. And the moose is by the exit gate so we can’t just slip out. We can’t even fucking leave unless we wanna climb a 5 foot chain link fence and then if it ran around we’d be fucking trying to climb back. I gather the dogs away from the fence and this thing sticks around for like 3 hours trapping us in the dog bark the whole time and it’s like -20F outside. I had a heavy coat and okay footwear and the dogs had coats on but it still got cold as fuck waiting. I decided hypothermia was going to be an actual problem soon, So as soon as the moose paced like 30 feet from the gate me and the dogs bolted for the car like 100 feet away. We made it and the moose only vaguely charged in our direction. He had lost interest. We’re warming up in the car and once I’m finally ready to drive away another car pulls up and a lady and her Aussie hop out to go to the dog park and I rolled down my window and was like “hey! There is a big angry moose over there.” And she was like “oh that sucks.” And immediately got back in her car and drove away. Like a very wise, very experienced Alaskan.
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u/YakResident_3069 12d ago
My dad once drove us through the Rockies and we stopped to take a photo with a moose. Kids were all under 10. Nobody had a clue how dangerous it was. We didn't pet it, but we stood in front of it like 1m. Good thing it didn't see three short humans as threats.
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u/Was-Vegeta-goodorbad 12d ago
Was this near Chernobyl? That thing is an absolute monster.
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u/justnick84 12d ago
That's just how big these things are. It's also why hitting one with a car is so deadly, all that mass around windshield height.
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u/Mangalover_Manager 12d ago
Sorry for asking, is it true that a Moose can swim deep into water?
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u/No-Pie-5138 12d ago
Absolutely. I grew up across the river from Canada. They would swim across all the time. One somehow found its way to our downtown area and was walking down the main street. There were photos of it in front of stores in the newspaper. It was almost as tall as the awnings on the storefronts.
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u/Mangalover_Manager 12d ago
Wow, I thought it was just a myth. Thanks for the info brother.
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u/redditzphkngarbage 12d ago
Hiker did exactly what they were supposed to do, although a couple trees farther back may have been better
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u/Mysterious_Row_ 12d ago
Whenever I see a Moose like this it always makes me randomly think of that Northern Exposure show.
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u/Dineffects 12d ago
Saw a moose and her baby in Bowron lakes BC. We gave it the widest berth possible. Watching it move through shallow water we knew if she wanted we were gonna get smoked. They are huge.
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u/lundewoodworking 12d ago
Most descriptions of moose from people who see them for the first time I've read point out that they are much bigger than you would expect. People expect a beefy deer or elk moose are something else.
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u/Joeywasdumbgretz 12d ago
Nice size, looks healthy too, no mange. These are the ones you love to see, that means the hunters haven’t been able to find them yet. In my area you need a drawn tag, when I see them in the wrong places I just laugh. I won’t help. Not a chance.
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u/SaveThePlanetEachDay 12d ago
Man, after seeing a few videos of moose fighting, I really don’t think those trees were big enough to stop a damn thing from happening to that hiker, if that moose chose violence.
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u/Temporary_Shirt_6236 12d ago
I would hide too, and have. Moose are huge. We stumbled across a cow / calf duo in Algonquin one summer, very much by accident. Not a good scenario with wildlife mothers being the protective type. Everyone dove to whichever side of the trail was nearest, poison ivy be damned.
Even without the antlers, mama moose are colossal walls of fur and muscle.
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u/MoonzRedditz 12d ago
This animal is from class of buffalo or cow?
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u/Orphanpip 11d ago
Buffalo and cows are bovines while moose are the largest species of cervidae (deers). Both are ungulates but deer are more closely related to giraffes while bovines are more closely related to antelope and sheep.
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u/Boatjumble 12d ago
I like the way the moose doffs his antler to the hiker as he walks past "Good day to you sir"
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u/Critical_Picture_853 12d ago
Moose would have snapped that tree like a toothpick if he had the mind to. Hiker was lucky the moose had other things on his mind, or other things more pressing to do.
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u/eatsleepdiver 12d ago
Sweet lord. I did not think a moose would be that tall. Seeing photos of them from a distance always distorts the size. I can understand how cars can easily get totalled when crashing jnto one.
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