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Claim: An amorous moose once wooed a lawn ornament. TRUE
Origins: In October 1993, a family in Waterboro, Maine, bore witness to a scene of unrequited passion.
A fake deer used as a practice target for bow-hunting became the object of affection for a lonesome moose. The courtship proffered by 700-pound bull was sufficiently ardent that the plastic foam deer had to be rebuilt in the wake of his advances. He made repeated passionate passes at the arrow-punctured deer while Nancy Morrill looked on in mirth and her son captured the perfomance on videotape.
"We were laughing and laughing," Morrill said. "But the moose didn't pay any attention. It had one thing on its mind and that was it."
The brief affair ended when the loving and persistent attentions paid to the fake deer resulted in its antlers coming off. "Then all of a sudden the head fell off," Morrill said. "When that happened, the moose stopped and looked around. . . . And then it sniffed and trotted off into the woods." (Not the first romance to be brought to an untimely conclusion by one of the participants losing her head!)
Those tempted to view this as a one-time occurrence should heed the final paragraph of this wire service report on the incident:
Fall is the rutting season for moose in northern New England, and lonely bulls are occasionally known to attempt courtship with dairy cows and inanimate objects.
Hunters, wear brightly-colored clothes. And move around. A lot.
Sources:
The Orlando Sentinel.
"Plastic Deer Loses Its Head in Love Affair with Moose." 7 October 1993 (p. A16).
Reuters.
"Maine Moose Proves Love Is Blind."
6 October 1993.
www.snopes.com Nov. 2004
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