By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Only two days into the world famous Iditarod Trail sled dog race in Alaska—dubbed “The Last Great Race” anywhere—Fox News is reporting that a musher has had to shoot a moose after it injured one of his dogs in an attack outside Skwentna, at about 1:43 a.m. Monday.
Veteran musher Dallas Seavey reportedly killed the huge animal with a handgun. Race officials released a statement explaining, Seavey and his team were 14 miles outside of the Skwentna checkpoint on their way to the Finger Lake checkpoint…Seavey continued on the trail, stopped to rest and feed his dogs and pulled into the Finger Lake checkpoint at 8:00 a.m. AKST. The Alaska State Troopers were immediately notified by Race Marshal Warren Palfrey. Seavey dropped one dog at the Finger Lake checkpoint who was injured during the moose encounter. The dog was immediately flown from Finger Lake to Anchorage and is currently being evaluated by veterinarians in Anchorage.”
Seavey reportedly gutted the dead animal “the best I could,” per race regulations. This allows the meat to be salvaged and utilized.
Under Iditarod Rule 34—Killing of Game Animals, “In the event that an edible big game animal, i.e., moose, caribou, buffalo, is killed in defense of life or property, the musher must gut the animal and report the incident to a race official at the next checkpoint. Following teams must help gut the animal when possible. No teams may pass until the animal has been gutted and the musher killing the animal has proceeded. Any other animal killed in defense of life or property must be reported to a race official but need not be gutted.”
Fox News recalled that the late Susan Butcher, another veteran Iditarod musher, had to kill a moose some years ago, using an ax to kill the animal.
But the incident is reminiscent of a more recent story from 2022 involving then-rookie musher Bridgett Watkins, reported by TGM and national media. Watkins was training for the big race near her Fairbanks-area home when she encountered an angry bull moose along the Salcha River trail. The moose stomped her sled and injured some of her dogs, forcing her to empty her .380-caliber Ruger pistol into the animal. The little pistol didn’t deter the bull, but a friend called to the scene finished the critter off with a rifle.
Henceforth, Watkins told TGM at the time, she would “carry a bigger gun.”
Watkins, a registered emergency room nurse, wife and mother, subsequently carried a .44 Magnum Ruger revolver in a chest holster. She is not participating in this year’s race. In a post on her Facebook page, Watkins told her many followers and fans,. “My inbox has been flooded with asking why I’m not on the trail or if I’m gonna be out there. Well, if you’ve looked at the mushers list you know I’m sitting this one out, not sure when or if I’ll ever return. The memories that I had on this trail will last a lifetime.
“I was blessed to both start the race, and finally come under that finish line and get the belt buckle that each rookie deserves upon completion.
“This year, I’ll be on the sidelines with all of you watching as well.”
While firearms are not required items, mushers often carry one in case of emergencies such as an animal attack.
