An Easter Miracle: Moose Rescued After Falling Through Chena River Ice

It’s been a wild season for moose in Alaska – from the terrifying – a moose attacked a woman and her dog – to the heartwarming – an Anchorage man saved an animal from choking on a plastic bag – to the bizarre – the two critters that entered a Soldotna home and an Anchorage medical facility, respectively.

Now on Easter Sunday, a moose fell through the ice along the Chena River and some Good Samaritans and the Alaska State Troopers came to the animal’s rescue. Here’s Alaska’s News Source with more:

With assistance from local neighbors, Norris, Fairbanks resident Eric Dillon, and a handful of wildlife and state troopers worked as a team to help the moose from the ice.

“Put another rope around one of the front legs and then we pulled the calf who was barely out of the hole,” Niese described. “Let it catch its breath and it was ready to give up at that point.”

Niese says it ended up taking all six of the people there to pull the moose up.

“With the coordinated efforts of all of us, we were able to pull the moose out,” Dillon said. “It was a feat, but it was exhilarating, exciting and a nice outcome to an unfortunate situation.”

Alaska State Troopers also posted a Facebook message about the rescue:

“Troopers in Fairbanks were notified that a moose had fallen through the ice on the Chena River and couldn’t get out. Troopers Chroniger, Lindblom, and Norris responded with Wildlife Trooper McDowell. With the assistance of some local neighbors, Troopers were successful in rescuing the moose from the water and relocating it to the riverbank. Although tired and cold, the moose was able to stand on its own and thankful for the assistance. Troopers wished the moose a Happy Easter and warned her of the dangers of thawing river ice.”