Who says hospital food is bad? See hungry moose devour hospital plants after break in
Moose are so hungry in Alaska they’ve taken to walking right into homes and other spaces in search of nutritious green snacks: potted plants.
The determined moose were captured on video on two occasions during the first week of April.
A moose first walked right into Barbara Nickels’ living room in Soldotna and made itself at home, snacking on a buffet of indoor plants hanging around the room, Alaska’s News Source reported.
Then on Thursday, April 6, a moose wandered through the front doors of a hospital and parked itself in Providence Health Park’s lobby, right in front of a large potted plant it could munch on, video posted by Salina Martinez on Facebook shows.
“There’s a moose in our hospital, guys,” the person filming the video says. “It’s just chillin’, hungry.”
Stunned onlookers gather around to see what happens as security and hospital staff scramble to figure out the best course of action.
“That’s hilarious,” someone says off camera. “How’d he get in here?”
“He walked through the door,” someone answers.
“Like, what’s the code for this?” someone else jokes, referring to medical codes.
The video then shows a security guard armed with a leafy branch of some sort trying to nudge the moose back toward the front doors.
The moose turns instead to another potted plant that’s closer to the doors.
“Here’s the question: How are we gonna get it out?” someone asks off camera.
Security and staff eventually led the moose back out the front doors using lobby furniture. Those watching the spectacle cheered, and the video shows the moose scamper away from the hospital.
“The Providence Health Park had an extra-special visitor today, as a moose decided to come inside and check out the plants in the lobby,” Providence Alaska said on Facebook. “Thankfully, caregivers from the Security Department helped guide our friend safely out the door.”
Naturally, jokes abounded.
“Probably there for a PET scan,” someone joked in comments on the post.
“I’m sorry sir, your insurance is no good at this facility,” someone else quipped.
One person admitted the lobby plants did look quite delicious, and another person remarked at how hungry the moose must have been.
“So funny and such a curious thing when an animal is so relaxed about walking into a human’s environment,” they said. “She must have really needed some greens.”
It’s a likely explanation, according to officials with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
It’s been an especially long and hard winter for wildlife in many parts of the U.S., including Alaska. It’s contributing to more frequent encounters between moose and people and has led some moose to get aggressive, Fish and Game department officials said in a Jan. 5 news release.
“Moose are stressed from dealing with deep snow and are struggling to find enough easily accessible food during the cold weather,” officials said in the release.
Moose aren’t normally aggressive, according to an entry on the department’s website. But they can become aggressive “when hungry and tired, especially in winter when they must walk through deep snow.”
What to know about moose
Moose are protective animals and will defend their territory and their young.
If someone encounters a moose, they should give it space to leave, wildlife officials said. People shouldn’t try to haze a moose to move out of the way.
Wildlife officials said people should do the following if a moose charges:
Run away quickly
Put a tree, rock or other large object between them and the moose
Get up quickly if knocked down
Report the incident to wildlife officials as soon as possible
