A couple on a recent fishing trip in Telos Township, Maine, witnessed three majestic creatures up close and have the photos to prove it.
When Elvia and Todd Malcolm of Lincoln saw a female moose on the edge of some woods, they parked their truck and watched as she appeared to be in distress while making grunting noises, the Associate Press (AP) reported Thursday.
That was when the calf and a black bear ran out of the woods and Todd quickly decided to put his truck in drive and step on the gas to put the vehicle between the bear and the frightened calf.
The bear ran off into the woods and the calf was saved.
Elvia recalled, “My heart was racing because I did not want to witness the bear catching the calf. As soon as the calf got past the truck and we were able to get the bear to give up the chase, I looked up the road and saw that they were together, the mom and the calf.”
During the tense moments, Elvia had pulled out her cellphone and snapped several photos that showed the pursuit and the calf being reunited with its mother:
While explaining how he moved his truck to save the animal, Todd said he did not want to hurt the bear, simply stating that “I knew what I had to do and I just did it.”
According to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the state boasts to the highest moose population in the lower 48 states.
“The scientific name for moose is Alces alces americana — origin of the word moose comes from the Algonquin word ‘moosu’ meaning ‘bark stripper,’” the site read.
“The largest member of the deer family, moose stand up to seven feet tall, sporting dark brown fur and a shoulder hump. Female moose (3.5+ years old) average 836 pounds and the average prime age (5.5+) adult bull weighs 1,106 pounds. The largest bull ever harvested in Maine had a dressed weight of 1,330 pounds and means it would have weighed approximately 1,767 pounds!” it continued.
