According to Burlington, Vermont's WCAX Channel 3, a local man is counting his lucky stars after fleeing a deranged bull moose in his front yard on Sunday morning. Most Alaskans know moose aren't to be trifled with, but thanks to Brent Olsen, there's excellent video showing exactly why.
Every moose is a black belt in "Moose Fu," a style of four-legged martial arts featuring blindingly fast front-leg kicks and rapid lunges. But displays of such fighting prowess aren't easy to see clearly, let alone appreciate, due to all the running for one's life. Until now. Now there's video. And a full-bore moose attack is truly impressive.
Olsen first encountered the moose as it was putting a hoof up on the hood of his car.
"I had run out in my shorts from the morning and I started hollering at it. 'Do not jump on my car Mr. Moose,'" Olsen recalled.
Despite that very polite way of addressing the bull, "Mr. Moose" got decidedly low-brow, uncorking a vicious charge toward Olsen.
"It scared the crap out of me," said Olsen, who managed to run safely back inside the house while leaving the camera outside, still rolling.
The moose charged at the house four more times, he said, trapping him and his roommate inside for more than an hour.
A state game warden arrived and observed the animal for "a period of time" before deciding to kill it. The warden said the likely cause of the erratic, unusually aggressive behavior was "brain worm."
And yes, the warden's not making that up. There really is such a thing. Parelaphostrongylus tenuis is a parasitic nematode that can infect moose and other ungulates who live in white-tailed deer territory.
Watch the full report from WCAX below.