A giant bull moose in Alaska attacked a team of rookie Iditarod mushers while they were out training, seriously injuring four of the dogs and shaking their handler to her core.
Bridgett Watkins was on a 52-mile training run with her team of dogs in preparation for the March 5 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Anchorage when she encountered the enormous moose on the Salcha River trail system near Fairbanks last Thursday. The moose immediately attacked the group, Watkins recounted onFacebook.
“As he charged me I emptied my gun into him and he never stopped, I ran for my life and prayed I was fast enough to not be killed at that moment,” Watkins wrote, describing the ordeal as “the most horrific 24 hours of my life.”
Watkins explained that the bull moose trampled the team and then turned towards her and the other people she was with. She said they all tried to seek refuge beside their snowmobile.
“He stopped a mere 2 feet in front of our snow machine. I was able to cut 6 dogs free that were on the team connected to the machine. But unfortunately, he went back to my team attached to my sled and trampled them over and over; repeatedly, for nearly an hour it continued,” she wrote.
“I have never felt so helpless in my life,” she continued. “He would not leave us alone and he even stood over top of the team refusing to retreat. Our friend that lives out on the river was able to finally get to us and kill the animal that dropped just beside the team.”
Alaska State Troopers were preparing to deploy a helicopter to the scene, but did not go once authorities were told the moose was dead, a spokesman toldCBS News.
Watkins said that her dogs, Flash, Bill, Bronze and Jefe, were injured and were taken to vet in the nearby community of North Pole.
“The rest of the team is home, inside and recovering. We have many bumps, bruises, cuts, puncture wounds, hoof prints and broken hearts,” she wrote the day after the attack. “We are mending together and will see where this leads us in the next few days. Please pray for us all as we continue down this road. [M]usher advice; carry a bigger gun.”
Only days after the attack, Watkins and some her four-legged teammates were back out on the trail.
“Getting back on the trail was emotional today, but the team adjusted and overcame and is back training,” she wrote on a TikTok of her in motion with the Rocky theme soundtrack playing.
“Back in the saddle today. We missed our friends who are recovering,” she said on Feb. 7. “Thanks to everyone for their love and support.