On a Sunday morning, Clam Gulch, Alaska, traffic stopped while Andrea Bock was traveling through it.
A mother moose and her youngster were trying to cross the road, but the weary calf was having difficulty climbing the railing. The moose was becoming distressed after being separated from her young, and traffic was clogging the busy route.
Bock sat in her car for about 20 minutes watching the calf attempt to find the end of the guardrail. “The calf would get close to the end of the guardrail, but every time the mother would bring him back to the center, further away from the end,” Bock told The Dodo. “I think the reason the mother kept bringing him back to the center was because it was the section where there were no cars.”
Joe Tate was also stuck in his car on his way home from a fishing trip with his friends. He, too, watched the drama unfolding and decided to take action to reunite the family.
Bock couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
“A guy from the northbound lane of traffic arrived and offered the calf some assistance after approximately 30 minutes of frenzied pacing back and forth with the queue of traffic increasing more and more by the minute,” Bock said. “He waited until the mother was on the opposite side of the roadway, at just the perfect time. He hurriedly grabbed the calf and put him over the guardrail with his mother as traffic obstructed her view.
A stressed-out moose can pose a serious threat to people, especially if it’s with its young. It’s essential to keep a safe distance since a mother moose may attack, stomp, or kick to defend her young if she feels threatened.
Luckily, Tate and his friends had devised a plan to distract the mom by driving a trailer in front of her.
“At the time, I didn’t know the friends had devised a plan to block the view of the mother, so I was nervous for the guy,” Bock said. “I thought he was just hoping the mom would stay out of sight long enough for him to grab her baby.”
When Tate approached the calf, the little animal was grateful for the help. “The calf looked so tired he practically walked into his arms,” Bock said. “It was pretty cool.”
Thanks to Tate, the calf returned to his mother and the little family crossed the road to safety. “It could have gone bad and I understand and know that,” Tate told KTUU. “But it did go for the best, and it was worth the risk that I took.”
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