Post by M. Hawbaker on Nov 25, 2022 22:31:47 GMT
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Firefighters in Alaska got an unusual request for assistance last weekend from the Alaska Wildlife Troopers, but it wasn’t your mundane cat-stuck-in-a-tree situation.
“They were looking for some help getting a moose out of a basement,” said Capt. Josh Thompson with Central Emergency Services on the Kenai Peninsula.
The moose, estimated to be a 1-year-old bull, had a misstep while eating breakfast Sunday morning by a home in Soldotna, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage.
“It looks like the moose had been trying to eat some vegetation by the window well of a basement window and fell into it, and then fell into the basement through the glass,” Thompson said.
That’s where it was stuck, one floor below ground.
A biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game was able to tranquilize the moose, but the animal wasn’t completely unconscious.
“He was still looking around and sitting there, he just wasn’t running around,” Thompson said.
Once sedated, the next problem was getting the moose — which weighed at least 500 pounds (225 kilograms) — out of the house.
Improvising a bit, responders grabbed a big transport tarp that’s typically used as a stretcher for larger human patients. Once the moose was in position, it took six men to carry him through the house and back outside.
apnews.com/article/oddities-alaska-animals-wildlife-anchorage-1aa5683237d615adb57ebc999298727f
“They were looking for some help getting a moose out of a basement,” said Capt. Josh Thompson with Central Emergency Services on the Kenai Peninsula.
The moose, estimated to be a 1-year-old bull, had a misstep while eating breakfast Sunday morning by a home in Soldotna, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage.
“It looks like the moose had been trying to eat some vegetation by the window well of a basement window and fell into it, and then fell into the basement through the glass,” Thompson said.
That’s where it was stuck, one floor below ground.
A biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game was able to tranquilize the moose, but the animal wasn’t completely unconscious.
“He was still looking around and sitting there, he just wasn’t running around,” Thompson said.
Once sedated, the next problem was getting the moose — which weighed at least 500 pounds (225 kilograms) — out of the house.
Improvising a bit, responders grabbed a big transport tarp that’s typically used as a stretcher for larger human patients. Once the moose was in position, it took six men to carry him through the house and back outside.
apnews.com/article/oddities-alaska-animals-wildlife-anchorage-1aa5683237d615adb57ebc999298727f
Happy to hear the rescue was a success. 
You can bet those guys will never forget that mission. 