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Saturday, March 22, 2008

"Moose Encounter, Of A Strange Kind""
















On another back Channel paddle on the Peace River we encountered a confused moose swimming towards us. Needless to say we were quite alarmed at first but the poor thing looked extremely tired. I noticed that the young moose had a massive tick infestation on its' ears and on parts of its body. We thought it may have been trying to release these buggers somehow but I doubt that the water would have worked. We did edge the moose towards shore where it weakly emerged from the river and clumsily disappeared in the bush. When you paddle in Northern BC it is almost impossible not to encounter wildlife on every outing. Makes for great stories and photos and never is there a dull moment.

2 comments:

Silbs said...

Sad. I hear many of the moose succumb to anemia from the tics.

Stan Mac Kenzie said...

Yes that is true Silbs. Generally speaking though the populations of moose and deer are or at least were when I left BC , very healthy. The abundance of wildlife in this area can only best realized of course when you are there. For instance it would be nothing to count upwards of 150 to 200 deer grazing in a field on a summer evening. That is just one field in one particular area. But it is hard to see an animal suffering especially since they can't reach those areas. Like a human trying to scratch a nagging ear itch with his elbow.