I lived in Alaska four years, one of the moose/car incidences reported in the local news was: A VW Bug hit a moose, it came though the roof and landed in the passenger seat...the driver, unharmed, called the local law who brought out a crane...after lifting the moose out of the car it simply walked away. This was a real accident but I would like to see if it could be replicated.

Also, to answer the question above about pickup...no car, particularly 4-doors where (and probably still) more popular even in Alaska.

P.S. Driving slow when in a potential area for moose, elk, deer, etc. is still your best bet.

Hello,
I recently watched this episode and must tell a true story that happened to me and father when I was 15 (many moons ago). We were driving thru northern New Mexico in late Feb. early March around 10 pm at night on our way back to Albuquerque from Colorado. We were in a 1973 Jensen Interceptor, an English sports car for those who dont know, when we came upon a herd on Elk spreadout across the road. With no time to stop and only fractions of a second to make a decision my father aimed for the smallest one and drove right thru him. The car did not escape damage, quite a bit actually, but the elk did go over the roof and the car was serviceable enough to get us that night, minus 1 head light. It might be fun to see drivers would have a better chance hitting one animal on the road versus another, like an elk or dear versus a cow.

ok. i love the show but i know from first hand experience here it is confirmed because i am writing this response.
in 2003 on my way home from a 4th of july party in maine i hit a moose in my 1994 camaro at 2 in the morning. i was going about 80 or so and saw the moose at about 30ft. i hit the gas and aimed to put the moose between me and my passenger. i was going so fast his legs snapped like twigs and the moose hit dead center on my roof. his rear end landed between us and hooked around the roof and causing his head to end up in the trunk. after the impact i had to drive the car for about 300ft, most of which was in the ditch. the moose's stomach exploded and landed all over us. when the moose was lifted out (without the...insides) he weighted 920lbs. i would love for them to revisit this myth. i have some ideas to improve the test too.
if you dont believe me about the crash i still have the photos from the crash and one of me on the hood in front of the moose. i will be posting them on my page.
thanks mythbusters for the reminder of the crash.

ethan

I was wondering did you think to try using a regular size truck or SUV in the Moose Mayhem theory. Not everyone drives a car most drive a truck, SUV, or Mini Van. I would love to see you try that Moose Mayhem theory with any of those vechiles.

I dont feel this myth is busted because just like deer what if the moose jumps or stands up as a car is coming. Don't forget deer are known to jump at the last second if dear can do it why not moose

I grew up in Moose country as well and my former in laws actually hit a 2,000lb moose. It wound up being a 4 car accident. They made the first impact with a Starcraft conversion van. The rack came through the windshield between the front seats. The dead weight of the moose instantly stopped the van and as the body slumped it rolled off the driver's side. The car behind them hit the animal and another car hit that car. Finally a car coming the other way hit the carcass and went airborne. All the people survived with minor injuries. The moose was not so lucky. The strike took place on Rt. 25 in NH. NH has over 250 moose kills by automobile per year, and the section of Rt. 25 between Moultonboro and Tamworth has a sign warning that there have been hundreds of moose accidents on this one stretch of road. As far as going under the moose, I'm not sure how practical it would be, but my father did hit a deer once in a 280ZX at the "perfect" speed. It was foggy and he was going too fast. He didn't have time to shave off much speed, but hit the deer low enough that it slammed into the hood and bounced up. The car passed under the deer and the animal hit the pavement behind him. The car had a fair sized dent that looked like a fat guy sat on the front edge of the hood, but there was no other damage. I suppose you might be able to do the same with a moose, but what are the chances of finding the right angle and speed?

So I have pictures of a moose that went through the windshield of a car!!! How can I post them for everyone else to see? Can you not put pics on these posts?

I wouldn't recommend it, I googled a few pictures and the are just a little bit gory for this site IMHO.

While in law enforcement I worked at least 5 fatal accidents involving a moose and cars and trucks. There were also a number that did not involve fatalities - usually a semi or larger vehicle. The difference seemed to be the position of the moose at impact - hit in the rear, head on or on the side. In several of the accidents only one occupant was killed. Other note - while attempting to move some moose away from the roadway one sat on a 85 camero busting the front suspension and doing no damage to the moose.

I was so excited when I saw Discovery was going to have an Alaska week. My family has been in Alaska since the Goldrush and I am fifth generation (born and raised in Anchorage).

However, I have to say that I am disappointed with the Moose Mayhem episode in that first of all, it does not take a genius to figure out that hitting a moose with your car is never a good idea. Secondly, leave it to people from California to walk right up to moose and pet them (also not a good idea!). When I was going to college in Anchorage, a person got stomped and killed right on campus trying to tiptoe past a moose right in front of the Campus Center. FYI---Moose are not the same as a deer or some docile cow. If you think you can just pet one or give it a cookie, it's not a good plan and you might wind up dead. Why don't you climb in the polar bear cage at the Alaska Zoo to get a close up while you are at it? You wouldn't be the first tourist to try that either!

Whenever something on Alaska comes on, I have to watch it. It's always interesting to see what happens when you bring in people who have never been to Alaska before. I've lived here for over 18 years, and sometimes watching these kinds of shows reminds me of some of the things I take for granted.

Like the crew's awe over seeing a moose for the first time. Seeing moose around all the time doesn't always give me that great excitement anymore, so I got giddy watching how the mythbusters crew reacted to seeing such a large animal roaming around in the middle of a city. Like other viewers, I have seen my fair share of moose-car accidents. I've even seen a baby moose hit by a sedan, and it was alive but badly injured. The sedan suffered a lot of damage as well considering the moose was only half the size of an adult.

And yeah I was a little disappointed because their simulation did not truly reflect the conditions Alaskans experience most of the year. But at the same time this can be a platform for future myths to be busted. I hope Mythbusters pursues some of the viewers' suggestions.

Hey..North Idaho here and plenty of moose too. It's impossible to grasp just how large a bull moose really is until you see one up close. (which happens PLENTY here. Had one in my back yard a couple summers ago) I have noticed that in the accidents I have seen between moose and cars...the moose often ends up in the front seat with all four legs kicking as it dies. NOT a good this for anyone in the front and OFTEN the back seat as well. I think the stick legs was not terribly realistic but, can't think of a better way to do it.
As a side note, unlike deer, moose don't have a many things that really spook them. We always warn tourists that if they come across a moose in the road...DON'T honk the car horn. We heard of some folks who had a bull moose in rut mistake the honking as an offer he couldn't refuse (if you get my drift) I'm guessing a full grown bull moose humping your car would be a BAD thing and might just emotionally scar the kids for life. LOL

I Drive truck and I have always been told not to blow my airhorn @ a moose cause it will charge the truck does anyone know if this really happens

quote:

Originally posted by sleek157:
Hey..North Idaho here and plenty of moose too. It's impossible to grasp just how large a bull moose really is until you see one up close. (which happens PLENTY here. Had one in my back yard a couple summers ago) I have noticed that in the accidents I have seen between moose and cars...the moose often ends up in the front seat with all four legs kicking as it dies. NOT a good this for anyone in the front and OFTEN the back seat as well. I think the stick legs was not terribly realistic but, can't think of a better way to do it.
As a side note, unlike deer, moose don't have a many things that really spook them. We always warn tourists that if they come across a moose in the road...DON'T honk the car horn. We heard of some folks who had a bull moose in rut mistake the honking as an offer he couldn't refuse (if you get my drift) I'm guessing a full grown bull moose humping your car would be a BAD thing and might just emotionally scar the kids for life. LOL

hmm i think that is a myth they should test... what happens if you honk at a moose

Seeing a moose in the lower 48 states is not nearly as likely as a deer, or a bear. I drive all over the contiguous U.S.A for a living. I drive a 2004 midsize Honda sedan.
Can you guys, and gals think of any other animal in the area i've specified ??????????.

Well all in the spring of 2005 I was driving my 1993 honda civic 4 door sedan about 55mph north on Route 11 in Northern Maine and was just rounding a corner at 8:30pm at night going down a lil hill and looked up the next thing I saw was 3 moose a calf in my lane, a yearling on the center line, and a big cow moose in the south bound lane I was used to them being around just when you live around Moose and are used to them being out at a certain time in a certain spot it catches you off-guard when they aren't where they usually are but I had just enough time to try to fit between the smallest two with my car. Well I thought I was gonna make it a
nd then the 600 lb one stept in towards the 900 lb one at the same time the 900 lb on turned it's head. I took the 600 lb calf up over the hood directly I got hit by the airbag, followed by the windshield followed by the moose and I had locked up the brakes at that same moment I hit the 900 lb one in the neck with the passenger side cab support! When I finally came to a stop the 600 lb one had been throw about 30 feet uphill from where I stopped I assume because of when it hit me, how, and when I hit the breaks kinda like hitting a tennis ball with a racket you absorb the impact and when it can push back no more it threw it straight forward and the 900 lb one I didn't know I killed till the state trooper told me in the hospital I broke it's neck and it spun off into the ditch. I was bleeding from cuts from glass and from where the airbag broke my nose along with the moose and windshield. But I was relatively intact I mean I was conscious, aware of my surroundings and situation even if I was bleeding everywhere. I stepped out of the car looked no coolant leaking so I stepped back into the car started it back up, minus both headlights lol lit a cigarette cause my nerves were definately shot and low and behold my car started even though I bent the steering wheel cause I was holding onto it so tightly when everything happened. I turned around and drove to the nearest house and no one answered I was ready to get in my car but saw headlights so I flagged down the car and it was a Registered Nurse she grabbed a pair of latex gloves and a blanket for me and I sat there bleeding and chain smoking till the ambulance arrived and called and let my family know what happened and had them meet me at the hospital. Well I took a nice lil ambulance ride to the hospital. Was quite happy when the state police officer said he'd fill out the paperwork for the insurance specially since when he entered he asked to see the dead body from the car accident with the moose which made me laugh cause I never really thought how lucky I was I was thinking OMG my car is totalled. But out of all of it I broke my nose in 2 places shattered it in another place off my skull, my whole face was dermabonded back together, and I had 3 internal and 4 external stitches in my right hand inbetween index and middle finger from punching out the windshield to get it off me cause it was wrapped around my face and head like saran wrap. So I made it out of it very well! I have pictures of the car, and me about a week later. The worst part though was for the next year I was having glass pieces and sand like broken glass coming out of the skin of my face which hurt like hell. But I will say that if you don't panic and just try to do your best and keep your wits about you any accident can be handled in such a way that it doesn't turn out as bad as you'd think. But the best way to avoid an accident with Moose is don't expect them to be in the same place that you always see them and when you know they are about slow down drive cautious and be aware of the danger they pose. I was lucky extremely if I had just hit the cow moose instead of the smaller two I'd be dead probably decapitated but also I must give a lot of credit to wearing my seatbelt and the solid head restraint on my seat cause it held my head inplace so that my neck wasn't broken so thank you Honda for a very well engineered car cause it saved my life! But I will say I did find some things on myth busters relavant to hitting a moose but others I didn't cause you don't always hit broadside most of the time you hit them from behind running forward or running forward hitting them head on so they only did 1 example of hitting a moose really but if ppl learn something and are more cautious from it than that's what counts isn't it?

Weep, Anchorage, Buzzwinkle is no more
By JAMES HALPIN
jhalpin@adn.com
Published: April 4th, 2008 10:30 PM
Last Modified: April 4th, 2008 10:34 PM

The downtown moose with an affinity for fermented crab apples and Christmas lights is dead.Anchorage-area wildlife biologist Rick Sinnott killed the aging bull moose known as Buzzwinkle with a shotgun blast after finding him lying in a lot behind Anchorage Printing in Spenard, severely emaciated and unable to get up.

The moose was at least 13 years old - a senior citizen by moose standards - with badly worn teeth and an infected wound on his rump, both of which contributed to his demise, said Sinnott, who works for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

"He was really on his death bed over there," he said. "It was just a matter of time. If he were any other moose, I probably would have shot him sooner ... He had a good life, other than getting tangled in Christmas lights from time to time."

The beginning of the end came in February, when Buzzwinkle was spotted near Ship Creek munching on twigs. He had a football-sized lump on his left hindquarter. Initially, it appeared the old bull might have been hit by a car, but Sinnott suspects an arrow might have been responsible for the puncture-wound injury.

The hip appeared to have healed by the time biologists caught up with him last Thursday, Sinnott said. But a post-mortem check of the moose revealed a large abscess under the surface, which likely slowed him down and hindered his ability to browse for food, Sinnott said.

The even-tempered moose has popped up sporadically over the years, but it wasn't until he got his antlers tangled in a rope swing in a Turnagain Parkway yard in November 2004 that he got darted and tagged, becoming instantly recognizable, Sinnott said. Since then, Buzzwinkle has been a downtown fixture, often seen sporting a tangle of Christmas lights in his rack.

Buzzwinkle earned his title - the "most embarrassing nickname ever given to a moose," according to Sinnott - in November, after he ate a pile of fermented crab apples in the courtyard of Bernie's Bungalow Lounge. Still tangled in the Christmas lights he'd found in Town Square Park, the moose assumed a disoriented pose as he began snorting steam and staring off into the distance, apparently drunk.

"That kind of sucks," said bartender Regina Senior, upon learning of Buzzwinkle's fate. "There's not a whole lot of cities that have moose hanging out downtown. It's kind of cool, 'cause they're huge."

The moose was likely eating the soft crab apples because his teeth were in such poor condition, said Jessy Coltrane, the assistant Anchorage-area biologist. Many of Buzzwinkle's teeth were broken or missing, and the ones that remained were severely worn because of his age, she said. Moose generally live to be between 8 and 10 years old, Coltrane said.

"Whenever you have a moose like that, that is a local landmark, it's sad to see them go," she said. "He was a really laid-back moose. We like to have the calm ones around."

Since earning his name, Buzzwinkle has been filmed walking the streets by the crew of the Discovery Channel's "MythBusters" for an episode questioning whether it is better for a driver to brake or accelerate if a moose collision is unavoidable. The episode has not yet aired.

The moose is also featured in the current issue of Alaska Magazine, Sinnott said. Buzzwinkle has Christmas lights in his antlers in the photo.

The U.S. Forest Service is using Buzzwinkle's meat, which was unfit for human consumption because of the infected injury, to catch wolverines that will be fitted with radio collars for research, Sinnott said. With most trapping seasons coming to an end, the only other option would have been to bury him at the landfill, he said.

"That didn't seem like a way for a wild moose to end his days," he said. "Better to be eaten by a wolverine."

Find James Halpin online at adn.com/contact/jhalpin

first thought- ALASKA MYTHS SHOULD BE THOUGHT UP BY ALASKANS!!!!!!!!
I LIVE IN ALASKA! i think i saw my truck in one of the clips... i have to say that most of the what they did was in that myth was complete crap other than the fake moose, i thought that part was neat and real enough.. for all the people who have never been next to a real moose- DEER DONT COUNT!!!! not anywhere near the same size..
changes
1. trucks and SUVs are more common
2. most moose collisions are on highways
3. almost all moose collisions are in the winter which equals icy roads and studded tires
4. i know some who have hit moose on motorcycles, sleds, snow machines, cars, trucks watever.. it all happens also..
% if you were to see one when the roads are actually showing pavement, you probly will see it long before ou get that close unless its night or some real special occurance
it is best to try to not drive to fast for the conditions to avoid it all together, but if you have to, it it with the corner of the vehicle.. if there is a re-do- do it on ice with bigger vehicles and studded or atleast all terrain tires..

Awwww, overall I was disappointed. I got my hopes up thinking they might tackle some Man VS Wild myths and see if they could skin a frozen animal that died in the wild, Or make a hole to fish a lake with just a stick. Or to stop a crevasse fall by tying knots in a parachute cord. Or sink a dingy by smacking into floating ice.

I got to say, I never wondered about cabin fever, or hitting a moose, or if a dog really could have fetched a stick of dynamite.

Wow! Has this thread ever brought the lengthy responses! Can I ask you new guys for a favor? Please use paragraphs when you are writing a long message, it makes it a lot easier to read.