Moose thanks rescuer with a lick after being trapped in Halloween decorations

A B.C. man got a bit of a scare, followed by a rare treat, when a moose became entangled in Halloween decorations this week.

Shaydon Soucy and his wife Sydney were driving to a friend's house in Fort St. John in northeastern B.C. on Saturday when they spotted a man using a tube to try and pull Halloween decorations out of what they first thought was a tree.

"I looked at my wife and was like, what in the heck is [he] doing," Soucy said, before realizing: "Oh, wait. That's a moose. There's a moose with Halloween decorations on its head."

The bull moose, which has been seen by people in the Airport Subdivision neighbourhood in recent weeks, had gotten some black webbing and a decorative skull stuck in its antlers, and was shaking its head trying to get it off, attracting some would-be helpers.

Andrew Raw heard the noise of the attempted rescue from his house and went to the window to see a group of people gathered trying to help the animal.

Unwilling to get too close, he walked behind a chain link fence to take some video of the action.

"As soon as it saw me walk over to the fence, it started walking over to me," he said.

Soucy joined Raw behind the fence and when the moose cocked its head downward, was able to take hold of the decorations and pull them off.

"It's kind of like he knew I was going to be attempting to help him," he said.

After the decorations were removed, the moose started licking Soucy's hand and even let him give him a small pat — something Soucy admits he probably shouldn't have done given the potential dangers.

"He wasn't a huge moose by any means but definitely 10 times my size and my weight, so I was a little bit leery," he said.

At up to 600 kilograms and more than two metres tall, bull moose are among the largest animals in B.C. — about twice as large as a grizzly bear. 

Though it is rare for them to attack, WildsafeBC reminds people that they should always keep their distance from moose, especially in urban areas — and in September and October when the animals seek out others to mate with, a time known as "rutting season."

Rutting season is also the time of year when decorations can be a problem for moose and other antlered animals, with hammocks, Christmas lights and garden netting all posing a potential tangle.