Two moose were found entangled in battle and encased in ice near a remote Alaskan village. The moose are believed to have been in a fight when their antlers locked and fell in the water, which quickly froze.
Image: picture alliance/landov/B. Roth
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Moose don't startle Alaskans. Not moose in downtown Anchorage, nor a mating battle in their front yard or eating their pumpkins on Halloween. Moose are just a part of everyday life in the northwestern state.
But Brad Webster, a middle school teacher in Unalakleet, a remote village on Alaska's western coast, took a walk two weeks ago that rattled him. Webster and a friend were out walking near a frozen slough at the Covenant Bible Camp, where Webster volunteers as a camp steward, when they saw antlers sticking up out of the ice. Webster and his friend walked out on the ice and thought it was simply one moose that was poached. After a closer look, they realized there were two moose frozen in the ice. "He and I were both kind of in shock after seeing it," Webster told Alaskan local news station KTVA.
Jeff Erickson, student activities director of the Bering Strait School District in Unalakleet, joined Webster to see the moose that were frozen in time. Erickson, who grew up in the area and has hunted for 50 years, was fascinated by what he saw. "It was such a surreal sight – so serene and quiet, but a stark vision of how brutally harsh life can be," said Erickson.
Tangled in battle
The moose were only frozen since the end of the recent mating season, which runs from late September to early October. The antlers of the two moose are suspected to have become entangled during a fight for a mate and fell in the water which quickly froze around the two moose, entrapping the two. Kris Hundertmark, chair of the biology and wildlife department at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, told Alaskan daily newspaper Alaskan Dispatch News in an email the death was unfortunate for these two, but better than other potential outcomes.
"These two fellows were unfortunate in that they probably fell into the water while locked together and drowned. Then again, that is a much quicker way to go than by getting locked together in some forest and slowly starving to death," said Hundertmark.
Webster, Erickson, and a few others removed the two moose from the frozen area to use for multiple purposes. The spoiled meat will be used for dog food and trapping bait. The remaining meat that is left at the site is free for anyone who wants it, according to Webster. The still-frozen moose heads are on Webster's property and the current plan calls for them to be cleaned out, bleached and mounted at the Covenant Bible Camp.
kbd/kl (AP)
The strange use of animal parts
From perfume to hair accessories, humans have a long history of using animal parts in strange and unnecessary ways. But our penchant for pelts has brought many species to the brink of extinction.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/R. Gacad
An antiquated status symbol
That ivory and rhino horn have a destructive market value is a well-established fact, but they are by no means the only animals caught, tortured and killed for their body parts. Bears are not only hunted for their bile, which is painfully extracted for human medicinal use, but their paws are still sold as a dining delicacy in some Asian countries.
Image: picture-alliance/ChinaFotoPress
Tortoiseshell in your hair?
The use of tortoiseshell dates back centuries, when it was used in such things as jewelry, hair accessories or maquetry. Although the Hawksbill turtle, from which it is derived, is officially listed as "critically endangered", and trade in tortoiseshell was banned in 1973, products made from the majestic creatures' carapace continues in many parts of the world.
Image: Robert Harding
Tiger bone wine
Tigers are highly sought after not only for their skins, which are laid out as a status symbol in some wealthy Chinese circles, but for their bones which is made into wine and promoted as a treatment for rheumatism and impotence. A 2015 report by the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency, recorded "sauté tiger meat" on a menu in a Laos restaurant too.
Image: EIA
A death sentence
Shark fin soup is a delicacy in parts of Asia. It serves as a thickening agent but brings little in the way of taste to the dish, which is often flavored with chicken stock. When sharks are finned, they lose the ability to swim. But as their flesh is of little value, they are thrown back into the water alive. They sink, and over a period of several days, slowly succumb to their gruesome fate.
Image: Gerhard Wegner/Sharkproject
Original leopard print
Like tigers, snow leopards are poached for their skins which are used for making clothes in Central Asia, Eastern Europe and Russia. Also like tigers, their bones are in demand for use in traditional Asian medicine. They are sometimes captured for private animal collections. There are thought to be just 4,000 of the animals left in the wild.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
A gorilla trophy
Gorillas are poached for their meat, which can fetch a higher price than other bushmeat, such as bats. But there are also reports of this endangered species falling victim to trophy hunting, which as the name suggests sees the animal slaughtered in order to sell body parts to the wealthy.
Image: picture alliance/WILDLIFE/G.Lacz
For its smell
The musk deer is in demand among poachers for its scent glands, also known as musk pods, which are used in the production of perfume. Although the pods can be removed without the animal being killed, poachers often slaughter them. The animal is protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, but the practice continues.
The rhinoceros hornbill seen here is under threat from poachers who target it for its feathers and for the pet market. But other birds in the family, such as the helmeted hornbill are snatched for the horn that gives them their name. Like ivory, it is valuable and is used to carve ornate figurines or as belt buckles and other such accessories.
