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A young moose calf trying and failing to hop over a concrete barrier caused a major traffic delay in Prince George, B.C., Thursday afternoon.
And it was ultimately cleared when one driver scooped the young animal up in his arms and walk it across the road toward its waiting mother.
“Pretty unreal. I can’t say I ever held a baby moose before,” said Duane Hogberg, of his experience. “It was super soft … like kitten fur.”
Hogberg was among the dozen of commuters trapped on Peden Hill, a busy route for Prince George drivers along Highway 16, on Thursday afternoon.
WATCH | Moose rescue in Prince George:
Moose calf rescued from highway traffic jam
A young moose backed up traffic in Prince George, B.C., after getting trapped by a concrete barrier. After it became clear it couldn’t make the jump, a trio of rescuers helped it over as the mother looked on.
He called in to CBC Radio West on Friday after hearing host Sarah Penton speaking about video showing him scooping up the moose and carrying it to safety.
Hogberg explained he hadn’t intended to pick the calf up but had gotten out of his car to help once the mother moose had retreated to the bushes, along with another calf who had managed to clear the concrete.
He and a couple of other drivers were trying to coax the lagging calf over the barrier when it darted towards him, and that’s when he says instinct kicked in.
“It’s automatic, like any animal running to you,” he said. “Adrenaline kicks in.”
LISTEN | Behind the scenes of a moose-caused traffic jam:
Radio West11:50Man carries baby moose over highway barrier near Prince George
Valerie Johnston filmed the event while she was stuck in traffic. Duane Hogberg and his wife were driving through, and Duane helped the baby moose get across the highway.Mother moose had moved away
Valerie Johnston was stuck going the opposite direction of Johnston and captured his moment on video, though she had no idea who he was.
“I was shocked,” she said. “It’s not something you see every day, just some guys picking up a baby moose.”
WATCH | Another angle of the operation:
Full video: Man carries moose calf across busy highway
A young moose calf trying and failing to hop over a concrete barrier caused a major traffic delay in Prince George, B.C., Thursday afternoon. It was ultimately cleared when one driver scooped the young animal up in his arms and walk it across the road toward its waiting mother.
Wildlife officials warn against getting close to distressed animals, particularly when it involves a mother and its young.
Instead, they urge conservation officers be called for such situations as they can be a danger to both people and animals.
Johnston says she wouldn’t be comfortable doing what the people in the video did, but also said that in this case the mother simply watched from the side of the road, where it had another calf by its side.
“It seemed like she was gonna let them help, she wasn’t aggressive,” she said.
Hogberg, who is also a moose hunter, said he had no desire to get close to the mother and estimated she had moved about 50 feet away before he picked the calf up.
“I didn’t want to get too close,” he said.
Moose unsure on its feet
The mother moose had two calves with it. One was able to hop the barrier but the other was trapped. (Valerie Johnston)
Johnston both calves seemed new to the world, and the trapped one didn’t have a strong use of its legs.
“It just couldn’t do … anything,” she said. “They were so new they could hardly walk.”
At first, she says, the mother paced back and forth trying to get its second calf across the barrier but eventually it seemed to give up and went to the side of the highway.
She said it was only after the mother moved farther away that a trio of men, including Hogberg, got out of their vehicles to help the calf.
“You could see the one guy patting the barrier to try to get him to jump up, like we would with a dog or something,” she said.
The moose calf struggled for several minutes before bystanders helped it over. (Sandie Kavanagh)
Johnston posted the video in the hopes it would find its way to the people caught on camera but is glad it is resonating with so many people — some of whom were trapped in the same traffic jam but had no idea what the cause was.
“It seems to be almost all positive comments,” she said. “People loved it.”
Hogberg said he’d received quite a few calls from friends and families who’d seen the video, and was still processing the experience.
And while the calf felt like a kitten, he said, it still “smelled like a moose.”