ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A pharmacist in Alaska had the right prescription to prevent a struggling moose from drowning.
Wil Graves, of Anchorage, said he was walking his dogs on Tuesday night when he heard a loud noise coming from a nearby lake, KTUU-TV reported.
“I heard splashing while I was on the phone and I said, ‘That’s a moose; he’s drowning. I have to go,’” Graves told the television station.
Fish and Game officials advise people to avoid getting involved in animal encounters, but an Anchorage man said that wasn't an option after watching this moose struggling. https://t.co/vUzdXsBZaD
— Alaska's News Source (@AKNewsNow) January 19, 2023
According to Graves, the large animal had fallen through ice on the lake and was unable to free itself. He called officials and was connected to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, who advised him to “let nature take its course,” KTUU reported.
“We understand that that pulls on the heartstrings, and there’s a lot of emotion behind it, but we really recommend that people reach out to Alaska Wildlife troopers or the closest Fish and Game office,” Cory Stantorf, an assistant area biologist for Fish and Game, told KTUU.
According to the moose page on the Fish and Game’s website, it is dangerous to help a moose, particularly if it is agitated.
“Never approach a moose!” the website advises.
That was unacceptable to Graves, a pharmacist at Alaska Native Medical Center, who believed the moose would die without help since the animal appeared to be exhausted and resigned to its fate.
“I’m like, ‘Well, not going to do that, so give me a ticket if you want, but I’m at least going to give it a shot to help it out,’” Graves told KTUU. “You can’t just watch something or somebody suffer and just walk by, even though you know I was expected to.”
Graves said he gathered a team and managed to get a rope around the antlers of the moose. according to the television station. As the team attempted to free the moose, Graves said he got a telephone call from wildlife officials.
“I was on the phone and pulling with one hand, and they said. ‘Don’t touch the moose,’ and I said, ‘Too late,” Graves told KTUU.
After the crew got the moose loose, Graves went home to get a tarp and blanket, the television station reported. When he returned, the animal appeared to have recovered. Wildlife officials arriving at the scene said the moose was walking.
“We appreciate that people care about our wildlife in our town,” Stantorf told KTUU. “We just don’t want them taking unnecessary risks where they might get hurt.”
Graves said leaving the distressed animal to die was never an option.
“You know, for me to walk away or just watch it drown, I’m not going to do that,” Graves told KTUU. “I’m going to do something to help it out. Just give it a chance, I mean, that moose could go off and get eaten by wolves or hit by a car, but at least it’s not going to die that way.”
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