Status: Undetermined (but there's no reason to doubt it's true)
Thanks to Adam Downs for forwarding me these images that are doing the rounds. I haven't been able to find out any information about them (such as who the woman is, or when the pictures were taken), but they're accompanied by this caption:
This lady, who lives just on the outskirts of Thunder Bay, Ontario, has a friendly Bull Moose who has become her friend. He likes to stick his head into her house and is very friendly.
Pictures taken at her home last week. He wants in. Helping himself to a drink. Come on in and have a snack.
Also she took a picture of a Buck [male deer] in her Backyard by the apple trees in the morning at her house. For anyone who thinks living in a big dirty city is the best.. "THINK AGAIN SHE SAYS".
I don't see any reason to doubt that the information in the caption is correct.
Comments
He got used to getting food from her propery, and it progressed from there.
Nice that the moose didn't die needlessly, but not the smartest thing in the world for her to have done.
Gertrude: "Look Ethel, it's my pet moose come to visit again."
Ethel: "OMG!!!"
(oppiejoe/aka Adam)
from http://www.motherearthnews.com/top_articles/1989_March_April/Of_Moose__Megaloceros_and_Miracles
Antlers grow from two permanent knobs of bone, called pedicles, that jut from the foreheads of all species of male deer. While pedicle development in moose begins soon after birth, antler growth doesn't commence until the following spring. A young bull's first antlers typically are short, single-beamed, unpalmate "spikes," having simple forks at the tips. The second cycle's growth is larger, with the main beams distinctly forked and the beginnings of palmation evident. Overall mass and palmation continue to increase for several years thereafter, with maximum antler size attained between the ages of seven and 10. Beyond this age, gradual atrophy sets in
Yearling "bull" moose
Gertrude's Boyfriend is really a girl...lol
Otherwise, the story is probably true. But as Blu roux says, it's generally not a great idea to try to get too intimate with large wild animals (see "Grizzly Man" for further information on this).
"I hate Meeses to pieces..."
People are stupid.
Actually one reason why there never was a Swedish moose cavalry: Officers didn't want to ride cows.
Sooner or later, this moose will probably have a calf, and then the lady will have real trouble.
Bulls loose their antlers and are actually antler less for a decent part of the year.
wild moose can be dangerous, as can any animal really. But it's rare for male moose to be violent outside of rut season, even rarer for moose to become violent with humans when they've been brought up with them from a young age- as this article implies it was.
Moose have a rather long history with people. It's not that uncommon or far fetched for a story like this to be true.