Agent Scruff Coolsmith

I found one in Broken Railroad, on the backseat of the car parked outside the Hunting Lodge

I've been spending a lot of time thinking about moose lately, after successfully hunting one in a Stalker-difficulty survival mode game. (Sadly, the hunt was all for nothing: I was torn to shreds by a merciless pack of wolves just a few days after crafting my hard-earned moose satchel.) Anyhow, I thought some of you might enjoy this video of a moose encounter I shot in Canada almost four years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_JgLBi5erY I took this video on my cell phone during a canoe trip in Algonquin Park, in Ontario (very far away from Vancouver Island, the inspiration for TLD's fictional Great Bear Island). This was in August, 2015. We'd just arrived at our campsite for the night, and after unloading the canoe I walked into the woods to find a good tree from which to hang our bear canister. The campsite was a little peninsula, and as I was walking away from the shore I suddenly heard a noise from the little cove to my right. I was delighted to see that it wasn't a bear, but a moose that had come down from the forest for a drink! I squatted down in the brush, kept as quiet as I could, and started filming. I watched for a few minutes as the moose drank its fill and chilled out in the cool water (it was a very hot and humid day, especially when you're covered in moose fur). I think I was downwind from the moose at first, so it couldn't smell me — although that might have changed at about 5:43 into the video, when it looked directly towards me. (I later learned that moose have bad eyesight, but a good sense of smell and hearing.) Shortly after that, the moose started making its way back onto land, where it stood still for a while. It was truly incredible to see just how bizarre these creatures are up close, especially the flexible, prehensile lip and the weird flap of skin that hangs from their bottom jaw. Another cool thing you can see in the video is how this moose was home to millions of flies! You can see them blanketing the moose's hind quarters, and creating a kind of shimmering effect as they move around. At this point the moose had gotten a bit closer to me, but I was afraid to move and end the experience. It looked towards me again at 6:49, and about 45 seconds later I decided to stand up and prepare to back off (my legs had fallen asleep from crouching for so long). The moose looked away for a minute, and I thought I was safe — but at 8:27, it let out an incredibly loud noise that scared the bejeezus out of me. Was it a cough, or a sneeze? Was it a warning to back off? I had no idea, but I took it as a sign that my moose encounter had run its course. When the looked at me again, I backed off... slowly. In hindsight, I was probably too close to this moose for my own good, but no ribs were broken and no harm was done! It was definitely the single coolest wildlife experience I've ever had. Thanks, moose!