“Anytime you can rescue a little critter, it always makes you feel good,” said Lt. Ryan Browning of the Homer Police Department.
A baby moose who ended up trapped in an Alaska lake is lucky to be alive — thanks to the efforts of an Alaska man and some quick-thinking police officers.
Spencer Warren shared a heartwarming video of the rescue on Facebook, calling it “Saved a baby moose from the lake.” The video was later reposted by the Homer Police Department.
In the video, Warren and another officer rush to the dock at Beluga Lake in Homer, Alaska, where the poor moose calf was stuck between a dock and a floatplane. Together, they managed to pull the little moose out and safely onto the dock.
The baby moose looked exhausted after the rescue. It can be seen falling down once it got on dry land. The video ends with the officer encouraging the calf to get back on its feet, and the baby moose eventually walking out of the frame.
“What a wild morning,” Warren wrote alongside the video. “Had to save a baby moose that fell into the lake and got stuck between the float plane and the dock. Thanks to the Homer PD for distracting the mama moose and the officer for helping me pull the baby out.”
Warren, who works for the outdoor tourism company Destination Alaska Adventure Co., told the Associated Press that he spotted the struggling moose calf when he arrived at work around 6:30 a.m. on June 14 to prepare the floatplane for a trip.
“Oh, man, where is mama? I know she’s nearby,” he recalled thinking.
Indeed, the mother moose was about four feet away from the dock with another calf when he first arrived. To avoid provoking the mother, Warren waited for the police to arrive before attempting the rescue. The baby moose simply couldn’t get a grip on the slippery metal float.
Homer Police Lt. Ryan Browning spoke to the Associated Press, stating that the calf would have likely faced “sure demise” if officers hadn’t stepped in. When the police arrived, they cleverly positioned their cruiser between the mother moose and her struggling calf before attempting the rescue.
Browning mentioned that the officers felt a sense of satisfaction from the successful rescue. “Anytime you can rescue a little critter, it always makes you feel good,” he said.
