A Canadian fuel company worker has been sacked for rescuing a moose calf from a black bear.
Mark Skage was on an assignment for AFD Petroleum Inc. when he spotted the young animal by the side of the road north of his home town of Fort Nelson, British Columbia province.
He called the youngster over to his pick-up truck after seeing it almost hit by several cars. When he opened the door, the calf immediately tried to climb in.
After waiting a while to see if the mother moose would return for her child, Skage spotted a predatory black bear.
"After the second time she tried to get in, I looked up across the road, I just happened to glance over there — and halfway across the ditch, maybe like 50 yards, there was a black bear standing there," the Canadian told TV reporters.
According to figures from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, up to four in ten moose calves are taken by bear — mainly the larger Grizzlies — before the reach adulthood.
"I just couldn't do it, in my heart. People can say all they want. I know as outdoorsmen, we talk about predator control," Skage said. "Black bears are the number one predator for those calves. So I just thought, 'Well, I can't take care of the predator, but I guess maybe I can try and help out this little calf'."
The kindly Canuck finally relented and let the little moose climb into the cab with him, making a call to the British Columbia Conservation Officer Service to arrange a place in an animal rescue centre.
"Her and I kind of bonded on the ride home. I mean, shucks, we had like five and a half hours in the pickup truck together," Skage said.
But his bosses at the heating oil were not so sympathetic, dismissing the employee for his act of mercy.
"Instead of reporting the situation to a conservation officer and allowing the authorities to handle the rescue and relocation of the moose, the individual made the independent decision to transport an uninjured moose calf, a wild animal, in the front seat of his company vehicle for many hours," AFD Petroleum president Dale Reimer said. "This not only put the employee and other road users at risk but also potentially caused distress and harm to the moose."
While acknowledging that citizens should let the law of the jungle take its course in such cases, Skage said he had no regrets — especially after learning that the calf was a female.
"It wasn't just one moose calf that God saved. It was a whole bunch," he said. "She's gonna grow up and have lots of babies, and her babies will have babies. I think it's a positive. I believe that in my heart."