OFF: MAN VS MOOSE!

[Andy Gilham]

Just saw this on Ceefax:

WANDERING MOOSE LANDS DRIVER IN JAIL

A collision with a moose landed a Normwegian driver in hospital then in jail
when police found 62lb of hashish stashed in his wrecked car.

The crahs happened at Svinesund in Sweden near the Norwegian border when the
animal ran out in front of the car.

The 35-year-old driver was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

When his car was towed to a garage for repairs mechanics discoverd the drug
and reported it to the police.




- Andy

mailto:Andy.Gilham at btinternet.com; http://www.btinternet.com/~andy.gilham


> -----Original Message-----
> From: BOC/Hawkwind Discussion List [mailto:BOC-L at LISTSERV.SPC.EDU]On
> Behalf Of christmu at EUNET.NO
> Sent: 06 August 1998 13:21
> To: Multiple recipients of list BOC-L
> Subject: OFF: MAN VS MOOSE!
>
>
> This is from a recent local paper, I cracked up when I read it
> and just had
> to translate this, as I know moose auto-murder has been a heavy subject on
> this list in the past.  I also put up the story, the dead road-moose pic,
> and an account of a drunken Swedish moose on my website. All this in one
> hour. Choose your moose.
>
> Christian
>
> (  picture at: http://home.eunet.no/~christmu/moose.html  )
>
> "Don't understand: The Moose will probably use thousands of years to
> understand that the automobile is a natural enemy. In 1996, 1142
> moose were
> killed or put to death as a result of traffic accidents. The
> moose-accidents also take human lives and yearly hurts 100 drivers. The
> family that ran into this moose in Hedmark earlier this summer,
> came out of
> the ordeal mostly unscathed."
>
>
> DON'T GET IT
>
> "Every year, over 1 000 moose die on the road. 100 drivers are hurt, and
> and three are killed. The King of The Forest doesen't have the brains to
> stay away."
>
> THE MOOSE IS NOT AFRAID OF CARS
>
> (by Gunnar Hagen)
>
> It can take several thousand years before the moose's instinct registers
> that the automobile is a threat, says moose-professor Olav Hjeljord. The
> moose is not particularly smart. The sight of speeding cars don't
> scare it.
> On the other hand, if a jogger comes jogging along the road, the
> moose will
> run away. Inherited insticts tell the moose that the human is a predator
> classed with a wolf or a bear. Cars on the other hand, do not scare it,
> says Hjeljord. He is a scientist at Norges landbrukshøgskole [Norway's
> agricultural college] and has recently taken a doctorate on moose
> and moose
> grazing grounds.
>
> HUMANS KILL MORE
>
> About 10 000  years ago, after the last Ice Age, the moose arrived in
> Norway.  Ever since, humans have hunted it. And still we clearly
> remain its
> greatest enemy. During moose-hunt season, we shoot 30-40 000
> animals, while
> the cars "only" kill about 1 000, the trains about 500. Instinct tells the
> moose that it has more to fear from humans than automobiles, the
> moose-professor says.  Today's moose-stock is at about 1 00 000 animals.
>
> -How long time will the animal use to establish fear of the road?
>
> Hundreds of years, maybe thousands. The time perspective is not so
> interesting - within our future it will remain this way. The
> automobile has
> been here for 70 years and the moose has not learned.
>
> "NEVER SAW THE MOOSE"
>
> -What is the usual reason for moose-collision?
>
> Often the moose runs parallell to the road for a stretch. It will see the
> car, but is unable to gauge the speed and will try to cross in
> front of it.
> A usual reaction is then: "I never saw the moose". Hjeljord informs that
> moose-road-accidents happen year around, but with two peak seasons. In
> May/June, when the young calfs are driven away by their parents - and
> during winter, when moose congregate in the low lands to graze around
> trafficked roads. The heaviest versions of The King of The Forest
> can weigh
> over half a ton. On its long thin legs, the moose is a potential
> traffic bomb.
>
> FAILED EFFORTS
>
> Vegdirektoratet [the road dept.] have attempted several ideas,
> most of them
> failing: Large sums were spent on German poles [no pun intended!] with
> reflectives that looked like eyes of predators. These were to be lit up by
> the approaching cars' headlights. A waste of money, says Hjeljord.
> High-frequency sounds on test cars have not been effective. Odor-bags of
> urine from wolf and bear have not been effective either. Clear roads and
> better lighting however have helped to an extent.
>
> -Now fences are being put up on all new highways. It will help, but will
> have a significant negative consequence that  moose stocks are stopped and
> grazing grounds isolated, says Olav Hjeljord.
>