Maine Fisherman Drives Off Charging Bear to Save Moose Calf

Clear Facts

• Todd Malcolm used his pickup truck to rescue a moose calf being chased by a bear during a fishing trip in Telos Township, Maine
• Malcolm positioned his truck between the predator and calf, causing the bear to retreat without harming either animal
• The intervention successfully reunited the moose calf with its mother after the harrowing chase

A Maine couple turned a routine fishing trip into a wildlife rescue operation Thursday when they used their pickup truck to save a moose calf from a charging bear in Telos Township. Todd Malcolm told The Associated Press he believed the bear would catch the calf unless he intervened.

“I knew what I had to do and I just did it,” Malcolm said.

The encounter began when Todd and Elvia Malcolm spotted a female moose near the edge of the woods and pulled over hoping to snap a photo. After parking their truck, the couple noticed the moose appeared unusually agitated.

“I said to Elvia, I said, ‘Grab your phone because you’re going to get a chance to get a picture of a moose,'” Todd Malcolm recalled.

Moments later, a bear and the moose calf burst from the woods and sprinted directly toward their truck. Todd Malcolm said he was convinced the bear would catch the vulnerable calf and decided to act immediately.

“I put the truck in drive and I just stepped on the gas,” he said.

Malcolm said he didn’t want to hurt the bear and only intended to put the truck between the predator and the calf. His plan worked perfectly.

The bear darted to the side of the road before disappearing back into the woods.

“Boom, gone, right in the woods,” he said.

The ordeal proved equally nerve-racking for Elvia Malcolm, who managed to capture several photographs of the dramatic encounter through the truck’s windshield.

“My heart was racing because I did not want to witness the bear catching the calf,” she told the AP. “As soon as the calf got past the truck and we were able to get the bear to give up the chase, I looked up the road and saw that they were together, the mom and the calf.”

Despite the chaos unfolding before her, Elvia Malcolm never left the safety of the vehicle.

“I really thought I probably got like a bug on the windshield when I started to look at them,” she said. “I took them through the front windshield of the truck. I wasn’t outside the truck. No way was I getting outside the truck.”

The couple later continued their fishing trip after watching the moose calf reunite with its mother, satisfied with their quick-thinking rescue that allowed nature to take its proper course.

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