Inventive rescuers save moose chased onto ice of remote northern B.C. lake

TACHIE, B.C. — Residents of a remote community in northern British Columbia have worked together to save a moose stranded for days on the ice of Stuart Lake.

Ross Duncan lives in Binche, which is about 200 kilometres northwest of Prince George, and says residents first spotted the moose struggling to walk on the ice more than a week ago.

He suspects it was chased onto the ice by predators and became stranded on the slick surface. 

Duncan says the drama continued for about five days before residents on skates tried to chase the moose off the ice, but only succeeded in moving it closer to open water farther offshore.

A second attempt was successful, because Duncan says they used apples to feed the hungry animal and distract it as they moved closer.

He says he was able to hook two ropes around the rear of the moose as it lay on the ice and then used his ATV to drag it toward shore, where it ambled off into the bush.

“I think wolves chased it onto the ice,” Duncan said in an interview, explaining that Binche residents used binoculars to keep a close eye on it while it was stuck on the lake.

“There was a pack of wolves, a couple of wolves, but they couldn’t get at it because the ice was open,” he said. (CKPG) 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 6, 2021.

The Canadian Press