MOOSE: Tale of thoughtless driver

One recent morning, as well as every morning, we were walking up the road toward Moon Pass just outside Wallace. We were almost to the end of the road where the pavement stops and the dirt road starts when we saw a young moose coming down the middle of the road (toward us) on a full run. It didn’t take long to figure out what was chasing it. Right behind it was a gray pickup with Kootenai County plates. We hailed the driver to stop and please let the moose have a chance to get off the road. He said he had been following the moose for more than 2 miles and had pulled over a couple of times to let the moose get off the road.

As soon as the driver stopped, the young moose veered off the road toward the water tank and headed for the creek.

We wish you, the driver, could have heard the anguished sounds coming from that animal after you drove away.

The moose was definitely in distress and carried on for a few minutes. We tried to find the animal in order to call Fish and Game but the brush was too thick. The sounds finally stopped and we hoped the moose was cooling off and recovering.

If you pulled over earlier in the chase why didn’t you just wait until the moose could find a way off the road? Why did it take you 2 miles and for us to stop you to let it do this? Maybe we should follow you running down the middle of the road for 2 miles and see how you would fare.

We didn’t get your license plate number, but we do know your truck and what you look like. We drove around Wallace looking for your vehicle. When we see your truck rest assured we will be taking your plate number and reporting you to Fish and Game.

These animals are stressed enough with this hot weather and do not need any more complications from people who should know better.

MARSHA LILIENKAMP

JENNIFER CARRICO

Wallace