Bull moose charges at man in northern Maine

A bull moose was caught on camera charging at a man and knocking him to the ground in northern Maine.

Caleb Lewis, who collects moose antlers to be turned into dog chews for the company Allagash Antlers, was walking in a swampy area in Aroostook County last Tuesday to set up game cameras when he heard a cow moose in bellowing.

He says she was surrounded by three bull moose that were competing for her attention. One of the bulls heard Lewis and decided to investigate.

“I took my phone out and started filming his approach. I watched him get closer, and closer. Before I knew it, he was three feet standing there in front of me. I let him know that I was, in fact, not another bull and told him he was ‘close enough,’” Lewis said.

Lewis can be heard in the video saying the moose “no.” The moose continues to stare at Lewis and then charges him and knocks him to the ground.

“He knocked me to the ground, and I slid about six feet back from the impact. Fortunately, my yelling, ‘Hey, hey, hey,’ was enough to make him change his mind and stop coming after me,” Lewis said.

The moose took off after the initial impact.

“I was on my hands and knees at this point and completely defenseless. Once I was able to gather myself and check for injuries, I slowly crept out of the swamp,” Lewis said.

Fortunately, Lewis says he only suffered a few bumps and bruises to his legs, back, and arms.

“Could have been much worse,” Lewis said.