A Maine couple heading out for a day of fishing happened upon a scene fit for a nature documentary: A moose calf running for its life with a large black bear in pursuit.

Elvia and Todd Malcolm were in Telos Township, Maine, about an hour or so from their home in Lincoln, when they saw a female moose along the edge of a wooded area before she turned down a side road.

“I said to Elvia, I said, ‘Grab your phone because you’re going to get a chance to get a picture of a moose,’” Todd Malcolm told The Associated Press.

They parked their truck to watch the moose and noticed she seemed agitated and was grunting as if calling to a calf.

Suddenly, the calf and bear charged out of the trees heading straight toward them. Todd Malcolm said there was no doubt in his mind that the bear would catch the calf and decided not to let nature take its course that day.

“I put the truck in drive and I just stepped on the gas,” he said, explaining that he wasn’t trying to hurt the bear, just trying to put the truck between the bear and the calf. “I knew what I had to do and I just did it.”

The bear jumped to the side and streaked off, Todd Malcolm said, “Boom, gone, right in the woods.”

His wife was happy and relieved they were able to intervene.

  • kamenlady@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    After making sure that the mother moose and calf were reunited and safe, the Malcolms continued to their fishing spot where they caught some brook trout.

    They were lucky i guess.

    I heard of a fish loving gang going around, cutting fishing lines and making sure every brook trout gets safely home to their families.

    • RogueBanana@piefed.zip
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      1 day ago

      The only thing you could possibly do is to show them their hypocrisy. The comments on that article is also so stupid.

      • FiniteBanjo@feddit.online
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        2 days ago

        Sure, hopefully the bear enjoys that. It’s owed a meal, and it’s poetic justice if these idiots find out that way.

        • Archangel1313@lemmy.ca
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          2 days ago

          Lol! I believe this was one of the “rules” in the kids movie “Hopper”. “Everyone’s gotta eat…so, eat”.

        • dogdeanafternoon@lemmy.ca
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          2 days ago

          99% of people don’t want to watch a baby deer get eaten by a bear.

          Imagine being unable to grasp that concept, and then calling people idiots at the same time.

          • kamenlady@lemmy.world
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            2 days ago

            This is the same kind thinking of those people that “saved” the whale in Germany.

            99% of people don’t want to watch a baby deer get eaten by a bear.

            But it’s not about us, humans, how we feel about it.

            We are not the center of things and shouldn’t assume that our feelings or morals are ultimate and above all else.

            We have to treat all species with respect and leave them alone.

            Unless they choose us, like cats and dogs did, for example.

            Just because we cross paths, wild animals are not suddenly our concern.

                • dogdeanafternoon@lemmy.ca
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                  2 days ago

                  Thanks for the article.

                  To me this does not seem like the same situation at all.

                  The situation in OP was people unexpectedly coming upon a flight or fight situation. They make an immediate decision that saving the baby is the right thing to do. Humans have evolved to have a soft spot for babies, even if different species.

                  I don’t think it’s even a little surprising that most humans would react this way in this situation. They weren’t able to speculate about what they should do beforehand, they weren’t sitting comfortably at their keyboard, they had to made a quick decision, and they chose to save a life.

          • FiniteBanjo@feddit.online
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            2 days ago

            If the bear doesn’t get to eat then the deer, or moose in this case, overgraze and overpopulate leading to loss of greenery and flooding which then causes undue suffering for the moose and every other living creature in that habbitat.

            If you don’t like seeing Nature then stay the fuck out of it.

            • dogdeanafternoon@lemmy.ca
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              2 days ago

              You need to chill out my guy. You aren’t totally off base, in that there can be possible butterfly effects to this sort of thing. But just coming in calling everyone idiots, and you having a complete lack of nuance, gets pretty old. Pretty common trope on here that I wish would go away.

  • Zahille7@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    One time I was on a small hike with my aunt and uncle, where we noticed a hawk (or some other bird of prey) staring at one spot in the tall grass just below its tree, wings up and back like it was ready to dive. Then we noticed a faint rattling sound just before we watched the bird swoop down and catch the snake to eat it.

    It was badass.