Travellers on the winter road between Norman Wells and Fort Good Hope, N.W.T., say a muskox has been hanging out in the area, and on Tuesday it rammed at least two vehicles.
When a muskox charged his truck on the Sahtu winter road Tuesday, Wing Sham’s first thought was to make sure it didn’t damage the radiator.
“It got like within like 20, 25 feet in front of me and then, like, it was just coming full bore straight towards the middle of the truck,” Sham told Northwind host Wanda Mcleod.
Sham cranked his wheel to one side and the muskox’s horns left a scratch on his corner bumper.
It happened as Sham was driving north on the winter road toward Fort Good Hope, N.W.T.
A muskox charges a truck near Fort Good Hope, N.W.T.
A muskox got caught in traffic on the winter road near Fort Good Hope, N.W.T., on April 5. Wing Sham shot this video as it charged his truck. 1:08
Sham, who lives in Calgary but works in Norman Wells on a three-month on, three-month off rotation, pulled over to take pictures, and stopped by some other trucks.
That’s when the muskox set its sights on his bumper.
Sham thinks the muskox was acting aggressively because it was trapped by high snow banks on either side of the highway.
In another video, posted Tuesday on the Sahtu Winter Road Facebook site, a muskox is seen ramming a different vehicle. It then steps back a few feet and shakes its head slightly. CBC reached out to the person who posted that video, who declined comment.
‘It’s been hanging out there’
April Manuel saw a muskox in the same area at 9 p.m. that night.
Manuel says they first saw tracks on their way into Norman Wells, but thought it was a moose.
“But then on the way back… we spotted that muskox and we thought ‘Wow!’… it became clear it was a muskox by itself,” Manuel said.
Manuel says they drove behind the muskox for about half an hour.
“The guy ahead of us told us that he’s trying to shoot at it, to scare it away. Otherwise it’s going to charge at our vehicle,” she said.
“It looked back at us, tried to attempt to run over the snow bank, but the part he was trying to run on was too high.”
“It’s hanging out there,” she added.
Animal likely felt threatened
It’s not the first time a muskox has rammed vehicles on the winter road, according to Jules Fournel, a renewable resources officer for the N.W.T. government based in Norman Wells.
He said there was a similar incident in 2013 or 2014 when a muskox got boxed in by traffic.
It felt threatened, and wasn’t able to get off the road and defended itself by charging the vehicle.
“From our point of view, we’re just documenting the incident,” Fournel said.
He said Environment and Natural Resources has no plans to intervene or “dispatch” the animal.
“Winter road season will probably be closed after the weekend,” Fournel said.
He said a staff member circulated a Facebook post warning people the muskox was in the area.
“One thing we’ll do next season is some Facebook messaging regarding muskox on the road.”
Travellers on the winter road between Norman Wells and Fort Good Hope, N.W.T., say a muskox has been hanging out in the area, and on Tuesday it rammed at least two vehicles.Wing Sham shot a video of a muskox as it charged his truck on the winter road between Norman Wells and Fort Good Hope, N.W.T., on Tuesday. “It was just coming full bore straight towards the middle of the truck.” (Wing Sham/Facebook)When a muskox charged his truck on the Sahtu winter road Tuesday, Wing Sham’s first thought was to make sure it didn’t damage the radiator. “It got like within like 20, 25 feet in front of me and then, like, it was just coming full bore straight towards the middle of the truck,” Sham told Northwind host Wanda Mcleod. Sham cranked his wheel to one side and the muskox’s horns left a scratch on his corner bumper. It happened as Sham was driving north on the winter road toward Fort Good Hope, N.W.T. A muskox charges a truck near Fort Good Hope, N.W.T.A muskox got caught in traffic on the winter road near Fort Good Hope, N.W.T., on April 5. Wing Sham shot this video as it charged his truck. 1:08 Sham, who lives in Calgary but works in Norman Wells on a three-month on, three-month off rotation, pulled over to take pictures, and stopped by some other trucks. That’s when the muskox set its sights on his bumper. Sham thinks the muskox was acting aggressively because it was trapped by high snow banks on either side of the highway. In another video, posted Tuesday on the Sahtu Winter Road Facebook site, a muskox is seen ramming a different vehicle. It then steps back a few feet and shakes its head slightly. CBC reached out to the person who posted that video, who declined comment. ‘It’s been hanging out there’ April Manuel saw a muskox in the same area at 9 p.m. that night. Manuel says they first saw tracks on their way into Norman Wells, but thought it was a moose. “But then on the way back… we spotted that muskox and we thought ‘Wow!’… it became clear it was a muskox by itself,” Manuel said. Manuel says they drove behind the muskox for about half an hour. “The guy ahead of us told us that he’s trying to shoot at it, to scare it away. Otherwise it’s going to charge at our vehicle,” she said. “It looked back at us, tried to attempt to run over the snow bank, but the part he was trying to run on was too high.” “It’s hanging out there,” she added. Animal likely felt threatened It’s not the first time a muskox has rammed vehicles on the winter road, according to Jules Fournel, a renewable resources officer for the N.W.T. government based in Norman Wells. He said there was a similar incident in 2013 or 2014 when a muskox got boxed in by traffic. It felt threatened, and wasn’t able to get off the road and defended itself by charging the vehicle. “From our point of view, we’re just documenting the incident,” Fournel said. He said Environment and Natural Resources has no plans to intervene or “dispatch” the animal. “Winter road season will probably be closed after the weekend,” Fournel said. He said a staff member circulated a Facebook post warning people the muskox was in the area. “One thing we’ll do next season is some Facebook messaging regarding muskox on the road.”