Maine couple help moose calf escape charging bear, reunite with its mom: ‘Knew what I had to do’
A Maine couple took matters into their own hands when they witnessed a behemoth black bear chasing a terrified moose calf at full speed — driving in between the wild animals to scare away the predator.
Elvia and Todd Malcolm were in Telos Township for a peaceful day of fishing when they saw a female moose trotting along a wooded area before turning 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 ᴀssociated Press.
After the married couple parked their truck to watch the animal, they noticed she appeared agitated and was grunting at a calf.
The calf and a black bear suddenly charged out of the woods at full speed in their direction — sparking Todd to suddenly spring into action.
“I put the truck in drive, and I just stepped on the gas,” he said. “I knew what I had to do and I just did it.”
Todd noted he didn’t want to hurt the bear but wanted to drive the truck between the animals to free the moose.
The bear suddenly leaped to the side and hobbled off into the woods after the intervention.
“My heart was racing because I did not want to witness the bear catching the calf,” Elvia Malcolm said.
“As soon as the calf got past the truck and we were able to get the bear to give up the chase, I looked up the road and saw that they were together, the mom and the calf.”
Elvia captured clear action sH๏τs of the chase, showing the moose galloping as fast as he could to escape the charged-up bear.
“I really thought I probably got like a bug on the windshield when I started to look at them,” she said.
“I took them through the front windshield of the truck. I wasn’t outside the truck. No way was I getting outside the truck.”
After making sure the moose calf was reunited with her mom, the pair carried on to their fishing spot.