You never know what you’re going to be called to do when you’re a forest ranger.
Sometimes, it’s trudging through dangerous winter conditions to rescue a lost hiker. And, apparently, sometimes it’s trying to rescue a freaked out, gigantic moose trapped by ice.
Forest rangers and conservation officers in New York were tasked with the latter last week when they received a report that a moose had fallen through the ice and was trapped in the icy waters of Lake Abanakee in Hamilton County.
A bystander who witnessed the moose fall in told officers the creature had walked out about 200 feet onto the ice when it fell in and was then trapped by surrounding ice.
Several forest rangers arrived a short time later to assist officers with rescuing the moose. Dressed in cold-water rescue gear, the officers ventured out onto the ice.
A forest ranger began cutting a channel with his chainsaw while an officer cleared the ice blocks, creating a pathway for the moose to free itself. Rangers then guided the moose to shallow water near the shore.
Once free from the water, the moose made several attempts to get up before regaining its strength, standing up on the stable ice, and walking off into the woods.