Close encounter of the furred kind: resident outlines experience dealing with moose on front porch

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Despite their dangerous reputation, one Fort St. John resident says she never felt unsafe during her close encounter with a moose over the long weekend.

Chelsea Kay says she woke up on Monday, February 17th, as she would at the start of any other week: preparing to go out for her pilates class at about 8:30 a.m.

However, when she opened her front door, she was met with a shocking sight — a moose had decided to take a nap on her porch.

“I was going to go and start my car, and just opened my door and there she was, laying there like a dog on my doorstep,” Kay says. “I scared her, and she jumped up and was sliding all around, because my deck is quite slippery with snow on it.”

Kay screamed and slammed the door shut on her would-be visitor. After that, she says the moose “stood there and hung around” while she took photos and videos of it from inside the house.

“I was like, ‘What is going on?’ I was shocked.”

Kay says she eventually got the moose to leave her front porch so that she could get to her vehicle. As she drove away, she saw the moose walking away from her home.

However, it wasn’t prepared to give up its resting place: Kay returned home at roughly 10:00 a.m. to find it curled up on her porch again.

Kay attempted to contact conservation officers for help getting the moose to leave her home, but she says she didn’t receive much help.

“They were like, ‘If she’s not being aggressive, there’s nothing we can do,’” she explains, adding that the moose’s presence was affecting her work as an eyelash technician and the owner of Flutter Lashes. 

“I would have just gone and done something else, but I work from home, so I had six clients that day,” she says. “I was like, ‘Should I start cancelling then?’ I didn’t know what to do.”

Kay eventually began slamming an extension cord against the side of her garage, creating a loud noise that bothered the moose until it left, wandering into a neighbour’s yard. 

It lingered in the area until roughly 2 p.m., and was ultimately driven away by one of her clients honking at it in their car.

Despite the moose walking towards her as it left, she says she never felt unsafe during her encounter.

“I did not feel like she was going to do anything,” Kay says. “She really didn’t show any aggression.”

However, she says she understands that moose are dangerous animals, and adds that she likely wouldn’t have tried what she did if it was a bull moose or if it had a baby.

Energeticcity.ca attempted to contact a BC Conservation Officer for information on what to do in the event of a moose encounter. As of publication time, we have yet to receive a response.