Look it's hard enough saving a dog from drowning in an icy river. But rescuing a 1,000 pound bull moose seems to be a task bordering on impossible.
Still, rescue workers managed to save the very large moose after it fell through lake ice in the Adirondack Mountains. It was a difficult task to get the animal out of the frigid cold waters. It fell through the ice about 200 feet from shore.
"There's not training manual for getting moose out of the ice," said Environmental Conservation Police officer, Lt. Robert Higgins, via New York Post.
Higgins responded to the call of a moose falling through the ice and quickly requested some help after seeing what he was dealing with. After all, it's most definitely not a one-man job. It proved to be a dangerous job to try to get the animal out of the lake.
Moose In Danger
"We were able use our ice rescue training to safely get out there," said Forest Ranger Evan Nahor. What does that exactly mean? Well first, the rescuers ended up putting on their dry suits to avoid the cold. This also allowed to float in the water as well. To avoid falling into the water themselves, they used a spud bar to test the ice. They also brought safety ropes in case one of them fell into the icy water themselves.
In order to reach the moose, they used sleds to distribute their weight on the ice and used a chainsaws to cut away sections of the ice. The plan was to carve a path for the animal to swim its way to shore. Because lifting a 1,000-pound moose out of the water just wasn't really an option. It would be hard enough to lift one on dry land, much less in the water.
"For whatever reason it was scared of those. So once we got behind it, we were able to direct it," said Matt Savarie, a forest ranger. For two hours, the animal struggled to make it through the water. Finally, it managed to get where it was going.
"It was really tired. I was shivering. It didn't have much energy left," Higgins said. "We didn't know if was going to be able to stand up or not."
The animal made it out and to safety.
"It was just an amazing sight to see that huge moose stand up right in front of us," he said.
