Moose Dives Headfirst Off 20ft Cliff
on Aug 15, 2022
Alyssa Hewlett said she was riding along with her fiancé in their speedboat off the coast of Nipper’s Harbour in Newfoundland, Canada, when they spotted a moose standing on the edge of a cliff and drove the boat over to it to take a look at it.
The moose appeared to be stuck and struggling to find its footing on the steep cliffside that was overhanging the ocean below. As they got closer to the moose, it began to lose its grip and started sliding uncontrollably down the cliff.
It slides until it falls off the cliff and with the posture like a diver, it falls about 20 feet to the seawater below. Fortunately, the animal didn’t hit any rocks that were there which would have certainly killed it.
“Based on the video, the moose appears to have landed safely and no worse for the event,” a wildlife official told The Weather Network.
The moose just landed in the water and made a big splash but was overall all right and alive. The couple then drove up to the moose and followed it as it swam back to the shoreline.
“The moose slid down the cliff and fell into the water. We thought he would strike the rocks below but luckily he made it safely and swam next to us for a while,” Alyssa said. “We tried to lead him into the shore so he would be okay. It was the most amazing experience for both of us. Once in a lifetime experience for sure.”
According to the wildlife official with the Department of Fisheries and Land Resources, it is unlikely that the moose made a conscious effort to jump off the cliff and that it most likely just slipped.
“More likely, it slipped due to losing its footing, panicking, or both. Based on the video, the moose appears to have landed safely and no worse for the event. Moose are excellent swimmers – they can swim at a rate of 5-6 kilometres per hour, and have been recorded swimming up to 20 kilometres,” the department said, according to theThe Weather Network.
