Moose Attack! A Trip Down Memory Lane by Cybrita Remember my description of downtown Fairbanks, Alaska back in '72? I lived on Crowley about five blocks from Main Street. It's fairly close to the A&P, so I decided to walk there and pick up some reindeer sausage. I can't help but look forward to tasty treats like that! I was just returning to my house when I realized there was an insistent sort of buzzing noise in the background. It wasn't very loud, but it grabbed my attention because it should not have been there. Since there was so little traffic or pedestrians walking at that time of day, I couldn't help my curiosity. I walked a little further and saw immediately what the problem was. I looked at an angle towards my house on the corner. I saw a rather large bull moose staring at a crowd of people that formed at the other end of my block. They wanted to see what the moose would do; but they certainly weren't interested in antagonizing it. What could I do? That moose blocked the entry to my house, effectively leaving me alone on the nearby street to deal with an animal nearly twice my height and a heavy weight, unlike me! Screeching to a diagonal halt, one police car skidded to a stop. The moose twisted quickly, looking, expecting to fight. Lowering its head and snorting loudly, it charged the vehicle. Both policemen never even got out of the car. They were jolted sideways in an instant. The driver's side of the car was crushed, with a large indentation. There was no way either of the men would be able to use that door again. And considering the state of auto repair in Fairbanks, it looked like they'd be stuck in that car for a long time.... My first impulse was to rush behind another car parked nearby. I had to force myself to stop, however. If that moose could damage the police car so easily, what would happen to me? It didn't look good. The hospital in Fairbanks had already been condemned. By the time I could be airlifted to Anchorage, my life would be over. So…what could I do? I was frantic. I had absolutely no ideas. At that moment, another car braked alongside the cruiser. I watched as the local veterinarian pulled himself out! I thought, that's all we need, another crazy resident bagging a moose just because he could. Due to the circumstances, I knew the law would gratefully allow the shooting to take place. Before I could realize what was happening, the moose was down. I found out later that the vet had used a tranquilizer dart to stop the rampage. It was as though only moments had passed, a few men surrounded the moose. Using a forklift, ropes, and a lot of strength, the moose was loaded onto the back of a flatbed truck. It's my understanding that they drove 10-20 miles Outside of town to deposit the moose back in the wilderness. Hopefully, it will stay there and leave civilization to those of us who don't charge into police cars. As far as I know, it did! ©08/25/2010 CVN and Cybertown have first electronic publication and archival rghts . Thereafter all other rights revert to the author.

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