Some life lessons come from books. Others come from trying to pet a 1,000-pound bull moose.<\/p>\n
The viral video<\/a>, shared by the popular Tourons of National Parks<\/a> account (@touronsofnationalparks), posted on Jan. 17, shows a group of snowmobilers encountering a bull moose. One of them approaches the wild animal, and the interaction doesn’t go as planned.<\/p>\n As the video begins, one man approaches the moose as if to pet it and is immediately kicked and stomped to the ground. For the duration of the video, he is unable to get back up as the moose continues stomping and kicking.<\/p>\n The rest of the group, including the camera holder, moves closer, but the moose remains on top of the man and appears to “even break his leg,” as the caption reads<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Is anyone going to pet him??!!” the video’s caption joked<\/a>.<\/p>\n But encounters with wild animals are no laughing matter. While typically slow-moving herbivores<\/a> and a critical indicator species<\/a> for ecosystems, male bull moose can weigh up to 1,600 pounds and are more than prepared to throw their weight around.<\/p>\n Though violent interactions are rare, they can cause serious harm or even kill humans if provoked. Last year in Colorado, there were three moose attacks in a three-day period involving a cow moose protecting young calves.<\/p>\n These encounters aren’t just dangerous for people; animals can often face injury or, in some cases, end up euthanized by officials even when humans are at fault.<\/p>\n Yet, despite plenty of warnings online from videos like this and at parks<\/a>, encounters like this are far too common. Already this year at the Grand Tetons, a group of tourists surrounded a bull moose for photos, and last year in Alaska, a woman and her dog were injured in a moose encounter.<\/p>\n Waiting for wildlife rescue professionals is usually the best course of action in encounters, but in rare circumstances, like saving a remote Alaskan moose from suffocating on a plastic bag, encounters may be helpful.<\/p>\n Viewers had plenty to say about the encounter \u2014 and most agreed it was a terrible idea.<\/p>\n “I just don’t get people,” one commented<\/a>. “How can you walk up to an animal that’s twice your size and weight and think it’s going to be ok.”<\/p>\n Another asked<\/a>, “When will people learn that the wild isn’t a petting zoo?”<\/p>\n “Just wondering what he expected to happen,” one user wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n Get TCD’s free newsletters<\/a> for easy tips to save more, waste less, and make smarter choices \u2014 and earn up to $5,000 toward clean upgrades in TCD’s exclusive Rewards Club<\/a>.<\/p>\n