(VT - US) 20-year-old horse, moose become pals
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Aug 31, 2004, 9:10:49 AM8/31/04
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20-year-old horse, moose become pals
Associated Press
Aug. 30, 2004 05:30 PM
GROTON, Vt. - A yearling female moose and a 20-year-old horse have become pals at a farm just outside Groton village. The two docile animals have apparently bonded, much to the delight of scads of tourists who come by to observe or yell, clap, honk horns and sing.
Such activity has prompted the landowners where the animals now romp to post their pasture against trespassers.
The family agreed to speak to the Caledonian-Record about the wild moose and their domestic horse on the condition that their name or exact property location not be specified.
For weeks, a young moose was seen wandering around the Groton village area and on July 12 ended up in a field adjacent to Route 302 outside the village. The moose enjoyed the pleasure of having the clear-running Wells River at her back and plenty to eat from nearby hayfields, especially at the farm location that would serve as her new summer home.
And in a hayfield close to that farm, a horse was paddocked. The two animals came together and before long, the moose was following the horse back to the farm yards and barn. They romped together, trotted together and could be seen peering out the barn window or standing side-by-side at the fence just outside the farm's kitchen door.
After more than seven weeks, the two female animals are still attracted to each other. They are both brown, the moose taller and longer. The horse is the leader and the moose follows wherever they go. The moose is about a year old, according to neighbors who have spoken with a Vermont game biologist. The farm children named her "Mary."
Mary the Moose and Little Bit, a Welch Cob, enjoy the coolness of the interior in a huge barn located on the property and frequently walk the pasture together, much to the delight of passing motorists. The host family is very careful not to feed Mary, requiring her to live off the land instead of their handouts.
A moose coming in from the wild to visit with a farm animal reminded the host family and visitors of the classic events of Jessica the Hereford cow and a huge male moose dubbed Bullwinkle, who in October 1986 entertained thousands of visitors at the Larry Carrara farm in Shrewsbury for 76 days.
Associated Press
Aug. 30, 2004 05:30 PM
GROTON, Vt. - A yearling female moose and a 20-year-old horse have become pals at a farm just outside Groton village. The two docile animals have apparently bonded, much to the delight of scads of tourists who come by to observe or yell, clap, honk horns and sing.
Such activity has prompted the landowners where the animals now romp to post their pasture against trespassers.
The family agreed to speak to the Caledonian-Record about the wild moose and their domestic horse on the condition that their name or exact property location not be specified.
For weeks, a young moose was seen wandering around the Groton village area and on July 12 ended up in a field adjacent to Route 302 outside the village. The moose enjoyed the pleasure of having the clear-running Wells River at her back and plenty to eat from nearby hayfields, especially at the farm location that would serve as her new summer home.
And in a hayfield close to that farm, a horse was paddocked. The two animals came together and before long, the moose was following the horse back to the farm yards and barn. They romped together, trotted together and could be seen peering out the barn window or standing side-by-side at the fence just outside the farm's kitchen door.
After more than seven weeks, the two female animals are still attracted to each other. They are both brown, the moose taller and longer. The horse is the leader and the moose follows wherever they go. The moose is about a year old, according to neighbors who have spoken with a Vermont game biologist. The farm children named her "Mary."
Mary the Moose and Little Bit, a Welch Cob, enjoy the coolness of the interior in a huge barn located on the property and frequently walk the pasture together, much to the delight of passing motorists. The host family is very careful not to feed Mary, requiring her to live off the land instead of their handouts.
A moose coming in from the wild to visit with a farm animal reminded the host family and visitors of the classic events of Jessica the Hereford cow and a huge male moose dubbed Bullwinkle, who in October 1986 entertained thousands of visitors at the Larry Carrara farm in Shrewsbury for 76 days.
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