Every Moose Matters In Minnesota

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JACKI LYDEN, host:

Here's an event you may have missed in the admittedly rather tumultuous headlines this past week, the Minnesota Moose Summit. Wildlife experts gathered in Duluth on Monday to discuss the creature's future. Its population is on the decline in the North Star State, driven in part by a parasite called brainworm and in part by global warming. But then there are the other factors, like simple accidents.

Officer PHIL SEAFELT (Minnesota Department of Natural Resources): On December 2nd, we received a call from a citizen into our Minnesota State Patrol Dispatch. They had observed a moose that had fallen on ice near the town of Downer.

LYDEN: That's Officer Phil Seafelt(ph). He works for the works for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. In his part of the state, the northwestern side, there may be as few as 100 moose left. So every moose matters, and Seafelt and four other officers responded to this call.

Officer SEAFELT: When we first walked up to the moose, so naturally, the animals are a little bit scared, and she did let out some type of - I guess I'd call it a whine, almost like a call for help, to be honest with you.

LYDEN: Luckily, this was a young moose calling for help, only 400 or so pounds. She didn't break through the ice, but Seafelt says her legs were splayed apart. It was just too darn slippery for her to get up. So, how exactly do you help a moose get up off the ice? You take a rope, about 20 feet long.

Officer SEAFELT: And what we did is, we just wrapped it around the moose. We were able to get close enough to the moose, wrapped the rope around it, and then pulled it up on shore. And once we got her up on the shore line, we were able to get it some corn, and it had been sitting on the ice for several hours, which made the muscles real cold. So we figured it was best to just let her rest.

LYDEN: But when Officer Seafelt returned the next morning, the moose was back on the ice. She had slipped again. He got out his rope and this time, lobbed his hoofed friend to the other side of the creek. The next morning, she was gone, but she won't be forgotten. She even has a name.

Officer SEAFELT: The name of the moose is now Phyllis, which I guess is after my first name, Phil. It was named by another officer. He's actually going to put me in for a life saving award, I guess.

LYDEN: Conservation Officer Phil Seafelt says he doesn't expect any awards. He says he'll probably run into Phyllis some time in the future, hopefully under better circumstances, and that would be reward enough.

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