WASILLA, Alaska (KTUU) – A Wasilla woman got an up-close look at a moose family\u2019s chaotic backyard reunion this week, coming face-to-face with a mother moose from just feet away before watching a bull bolt in fear of a neighbor\u2019s dog.<\/p>\n
Marianne Burke said she was walking her dog toward her mailbox when a neighbor warned her moose were close to her house.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe neighbor came up and said, \u2018The moose are real close to your house,\u2019\u201d Burke said. \u201cAnd I\u2019ve had moose around before, so it\u2019s not a big deal, but I was just kind of careful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then a large bull moose came trotting down from a vacant property nearby.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was big and massive and came trotting down quickly,\u201d Burke said. \u201cI was like, oh my goodness.\u201d<\/p>\n
Burke backed away and caught a ride from a passing neighbor back to her own house, where she told her husband there were moose in the backyard. He grabbed a camera and began recording as a mother moose approached the deck, coming within five to seven feet of Burke.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was looking at my apple tree right there,\u201d Burke said. \u201cAnd I was like, \u2018No, I said, No, don\u2019t eat the apple tree,\u2019 because they\u2019ve been eating our apple trees… So, she looked right at me. And so, she went on by, but we were looking at each other for 10 seconds or something.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the mother moose moved around the property, her calf became separated from her and began calling out, clearly distressed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew he didn\u2019t know where the mother was, so I was trying to call to him,\u201d Burke said. \u201cAnd so, I was telling him, come over here, come over here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Burke said she\u2019s had success guiding moose before.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey actually listened to me after it took a few times, about three to five times calling to her,\u201d Burke said. \u201cSo, I think they are kind of, they\u2019re kind of like two-year-olds. And so, if you treat them that way \u2014 and yes, they\u2019re massive, so you gotta be really careful too.\u201d<\/p>\n
The calf eventually reunited with its mother, but the pair then wandered into a neighbor\u2019s yard, where a young child could be heard crying in fear during the video.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were so scared because the mother had been already warning the baby about it,\u201d Burke said. \u201cI was glad she warned me. I was glad she got me to the house because I would have had to just stay out for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bull moose, which had been keeping its distance near a tree line, eventually circled back toward the family, until the neighbor\u2019s dog spooked him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe dog barked and so he bolted,\u201d Burke said. \u201cHe bolted right across our path and so we were so close to him. And he was just so massive. I was just so impressed with how powerful he was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Burke estimated the bull came within five to 10 feet of her and her husband as he fled.<\/p>\n
Despite moose being a familiar sight around her rural Wasilla property, Burke said seeing an entire family, cow, calf and bull, together was a rare and striking experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just beautiful to have the family here,\u201d Burke said. \u201cI mean, usually we\u2019ll get a mother and a calf, or we\u2019ll have a bull and a [cow]… We never had a family, though. So that was really neat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Burke said the encounter was a reminder of the wildness she and her husband sought out when they moved to the property.<\/p>\n
Burke said she and her husband have intentionally kept their property wild.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a very wild kind of a background and we kind of leave it that way on purpose,\u201d Burke said. \u201cWe like the wildness of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said moments like this are part of why she loves living there.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust nature is so beautiful, you know,\u201d Burke said. \u201cI just like to go out with my dog and walk along and enjoy the sunset and the trees, and you know, see the birds and stop and watch them. So I enjoy nature.\u201d<\/p>\n