Stuck Between a Moose and a Winterbear

A precarious situation attempting to access my property in Anchorage, AK

Author: Christopher Matthew Cavanaugh

Published: February 7th 2019

Edited: Original Edition

An example winter photo from 2017, taken from one of my trail cameras. Miscellaneous photos of bears from the same camera are shown below.

Terms and Conditions

Last night on my property, my driveway was blocked by a large Moose and its calf, and I couldn’t push them off the road with my truck due to undrivable snow depths and icy conditions. The moose do not like to exit the driveway, even with a truck driving behind them. On foot they are even more difficult. There was no way I could scare them off the road.

So walking, in pitch black conditions, with some reflection from the snow, and flashlight in hand, I navigated down a steep hill to bypass the moose. When I came back up the hill to the road, after much hiking, I found I was only about 30 feet ahead of that same large moose. But I was happy because at least I could get back to my RV, or so I thought.

Then, as I walked down the road, I spotted another animal. A large black bear. In winter. For some reason it emerged from hibernation. So I was stuck between a large black bear and a large moose with no way to get back to my truck but to scurry down a steep slope of ice and snow and back up to the road. I didn’t go as far down the hill because I was worried about the bear, so I was dangerously close to the moose. I was more scared of the bear than the moose, but the moose loomed large, and appeared to be as dangerous as the bear.

I made it back to the truck, and to a hotel to stay for the night, but that was a pretty sketchy situation to be in.

Source: One of Mattanaw’s trail cameras.

Terms and Conditions

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