A Moose Picked a Fight With a Fence. A Deputy With Garden Shears Settled It.

LATAH COUNTY, Idaho, Oct 22 — A Latah County Sheriff's Office deputy freed a juvenile moose that had become tangled in a roll of wire fencing on private property in northern Idaho on Oct. 14, AccuWeather reported, citing sheriff's office video.

The sheriff's office shared body camera footage of the rescue on Instagram. The deputy, identified by the office as Deputy Frantz, was sent out after the property owner called for help, People reported. The wire had wrapped around the young animal's head and body, leaving it unable to stand under some apple trees, AccuWeather reported.

"This week, Deputy Frantz responded to a welfare check on a juvenile moose who was having beef with some wire," the sheriff's office wrote with the clip, according to People.

In the video, the deputy approaches with what appear to be pruning shears and begins cutting the wire strand by strand. The moose kicks and grunts at first. At one point it manages to stand, but its head is still caught and it falls back to the ground.

Then the animal goes still, and the deputy keeps working, talking to it in a calm, low voice the whole time. "You got a couple more clips, buddy," he tells the moose, according to the footage.

The moose did not wait for the last couple of clips. Once enough wire was gone, it scrambled to its feet and ran off.

"The moose was cut loose and sent on his way, safe, sound, and full of apples," the sheriff's office wrote.

Viewers online praised the rescue, though People noted that several commenters suggested bolt cutters or proper wire cutters might have made quicker work of it. Others remarked on how still the animal became once help arrived.

The rescue ended well, but wildlife officials warn that moose are not animals to approach casually. People noted that although a moose charge is often a bluff, experts say it should always be taken seriously, and the National Park Service advises running away if one charges.

Moose are the largest members of the deer family. Adults can stand six feet tall at the shoulder and weigh more than 1,000 pounds, according to the National Wildlife Federation.

It has not been a quiet year for tangled moose. In June, Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers freed a young bull moose caught in a backyard play structure at a short-term rental in Fairplay, Colorado, People reported, citing CBS. The officers briefly stunned that moose with a Taser so they could cut it loose. It charged toward them as soon as it got up, and everyone escaped unharmed.

### What We Know
- A Latah County deputy answered a welfare call about a juvenile moose tangled in wire fencing.
- The property owner had called for help; the wire was wrapped around the moose's head and body.
- The deputy cut the wire with what appear to be pruning shears, on body camera.
- The moose bolted before he finished and left "safe, sound, and full of apples," the sheriff's office said.

Reported by People via Yahoo, UPI, AccuWeather

Clown verdict: The fence has declined to comment.

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<small>Photo: Grand Teton National Park (NPS).jpg), Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Clown emoji: OpenMoji, CC BY-SA 4.0.</small>

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