Free Republic

A routine flight to tag a cow moose took a bizarre turn this weekend when the tranquilized animal charged the tail section of a hovering helicopter, collided with the rear rotor and brought down the aircraft. The injured animal was euthanized at the scene. The incident happened near the southeast town of Gustavus late Saturday afternoon, and baffled officials with the Federal Aviation Administration and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. "I have never personally seen or heard of an injury of this type, caused to an animal by an aircraft," said Doug Larsen, regional supervisor for the Division...

(WCCO) Minnetonka, Minn. A moose was spotted in Minnetonka, Minn. Thursday morning and officials believe it may be same animal that was seen roaming the Chanhassen, Minn. area on Monday. The moose briefly made its way onto the northbound lanes of Interstate 494 near Highway 62 around 9 a.m. Police were able to get the animal off the freeway, but had to put it down a couple of hours later. Officials did not think they would be able to transport the animal back to its habitat.

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - They rarely have problems with drunks or rowdy animals, but residents of an elderly home in southern Sweden had to deal with both when a pair of intoxicated moose invaded the premises. The moose — a cow and her calf — had become drunk over the weekend by eating fermented apples they found outside the home in Sibbhult, southern Sweden, said Anna Karlsson, who works there. Police managed to scare them off once, but the large mammals returned to get more of the tempting fruits. This time the moose were drunk and aggressive, forcing police to send...

MOOSE, Wyo. (AP) - Researchers who spent five years lobbing urine-soaked snowballs at moose in the wilds of Alaska and Wyoming have noticed that moose in Grand Teton National Park do not react as dramatically as their Alaska kin to the scent of wolves and grizzly bears. Joel Berger and Sanjay Pyare, working for the Wildlife Conservation Society, suspect the reason is Wyoming moose encounter predators less frequently. Based on that result, Berger suspects wolf and grizzly populations have not fully recovered in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.Berger hopes the study will prompt more considerations than raw numbers when wolves and...