Mark Skage, an employee of AFD Petroleum Inc., recently faced the difficult decision of whether or not to intervene while witnessing a potential black bear attack on a young moose.
On June 6, while driving back from a job site in British Columbia, Canada, Skage noticed the calf abandoned on the side of the road. He pulled over and watched as the “few day old” animal attempted to climb into his truck, while a black bear stood only 50 yards away.
Knowing it was against the law, Skage made the decision to transport the calf in his vehicle to get her help, and named her Misty. Unfortunately, his employer did not approve of his actions and he was fired.
Skage, coming from an outdoorsman background, knew that both black and grizzly bears, along with wolves, are large predators of moose calves in Interior Alaska and Northern Canada and make up a large portion of calf deaths. He felt that he had to try and help the calf, as he could not take care of the predator. Skage eventually found a rehabilitation center that could take care of Misty until she was ready to be released, but his company was still not pleased with his decision.
AFD Petroleum’s president Dale Reimer condemned Skage’s rescue, saying he should’ve called the conservation officer and allowed trained wildlife officials to handle the relocation of Misty. Reimer said that Skage’s decision to transport an uninjured moose calf in the front seat of his company vehicle “not only put the employee and other road users at risk but also potentially caused distress and harm to the moose.” Skage concluded his post by saying, “the lesson I learned was AFD is ok spilling fuel on the ground but not helping wildlife.”