A New Brunswick man had a rather unusual run-in with a wild moose last weekend.
Marc Thibodeau and three friends were in the woods north of Bathurst, New Brunswick when they spotted a female moose across the river. Thibodeau decided he wanted to take a photo with the animal and cautiously began approaching it.
“I was just kind of avoiding the moose and walking alongside the river, as if I didn’t notice it was there,” he told the CBC on Monday.
Once he realized the animal was comfortable with his presence, Thibodeau decided to take a video. The moose, which Thibodeau believed to be quite young, began to come towards him, eventually getting close enough that he could reach out and touch it.
“I was freaking out, it was a weird experience to touch a wild animal like that.”
While Thibodeau was “ecstatic” about the experience, Dwayne Sabine, a moose biologist with with the Department of Energy and Resource Development, was concerned by the interaction.
“There is a possibility that the situation could quickly change into one that’s dangerous,” he told the CBC.
Moreover, Sabine was concerned about why a moose would be so unafraid of humans. While he was unable to determine if the animal was healthy or not based on the video, he thought the behaviour was worrying.
The New Brunswick government was also concerned and advised people not to approach moose and other wild animals.
No matter how docile an wild animal may seem, you should never approach it. Especially not for the purpose of snapping a photo or video with it. Beyond being dangerous for humans, this behaviour can also negatively affect wildlife.
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