A young bull moose broke through the ice on Loon Lake, north of Spokane in Washington's Stevens County, and could not climb back out. Firefighters, sheriff's deputies, wildlife officers and neighbours spent the morning cutting him a way to shore, and the video of the rescue was shared around the world.
How the Loon Lake moose rescue worked
The Spokesman-Review reported the rescue in January 2008: the moose had gone through the ice on a Monday morning, and a crowd of responders gathered on the frozen lake. They rejected the two obvious shortcuts. A rope around the neck or a tranquilliser dart would probably have killed an exhausted animal of that size in icy water.
Instead they slid boats across the ice and used axes and chainsaws to cut a channel towards the shore, then herded the weakening moose along it into shallower water. There it could get its hooves onto firm ice and climb out. Good News Network's write-up of the video describes about two hours of work, with the officers using sledgehammers and chainsaws and nudging the moose between rounds of cutting until it finally crawled free.
Why a moose gets stuck in lake ice
Moose are big. Adult bulls usually weigh 380 to 700 kg and stand up to 2.1 m at the shoulder, so ice that easily carries a person can give way under them, especially near the edges, inlets and spots where currents keep it thin. In open water moose are strong swimmers: they dive for water plants and their hollow guard hairs help them float. The trouble with broken ice is getting out. Every time the animal hauls its front legs onto the edge, the ice snaps again, and cold and exhaustion set in quickly.
That is why the Loon Lake crew worked to bring the shore to the moose, cutting a lane through to shallow water where the animal could stand.
Loon Lake, Washington
Loon Lake lies in Stevens County, along U.S. Route 395 between Spokane and Colville, and the small community of Loon Lake (population 898 in 2020) sits on its northern shore, 8 km east of Springdale. Moose range across parts of eastern Washington, and isolated groups have been recorded as far west as the Lake Wenatchee area in the Cascades.
What to do if you see an animal through the ice
Stay on shore and call 911 or the state wildlife agency, giving the exact location and what you can see. Rescues like this one need trained crews, boats and ice gear, and the animal is large and frightened. The happy ending at Loon Lake came from many people working together with the right equipment.
Related reading
- a deer struggling for traction on lake ice
- Sylvie the Husky’s Ice Rescue: Sean P. Coyle Reaches the Dog
- A Young Moose Caught in a Gate: The Rescue Sequence
- A Moose Pushes Through Deep Snow in Gaspésie
- A Helicopter Helps a Deer Stranded on Ice
- Hovercraft Deer Rescue on Albert Lea Lake
- People Helping Animals: Separate Rescues in One Compilation
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