Oped: She Outsmarted Man and Beast

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US scientists believe Yellowstone moose have adopted the strategy to outwit other predators, namely the bear. Which would indicate that moose are not dumb beast. But I believe scientist might have missed another important factor and that is that moose (especially pregnant females) can be very manipulative creatures.

When it comes to seeking shelter from their enemies, such as the bear, they find that we humans can be rather useful.

In hopes of escaping the watchful eye of bears, pregnant Moose tend to move closer to human communities. Scientist believe they do this in an effort to use people as human shields against bears. I have a sneaky suspicion that moose not only use people as a human shield but, in fact, they also use us as bait.

"How so?", you may ask. Let me explain it this way. In this case, we have a pregnant moose who feels that she must protect herself and her unborn calf against her predators. She knows that humans can’t be trusted but she also senses there’s a very hungry and determined bear nearby. So what does she do? She moves away from the bear and closer to the area where people are living.

Now, at this point, you are probably asking yourself, “why?” Well, this manipulative creature knows that the bear will follow her. In fact, he will follow her anywhere. It's very much like men's tendency of following women around. This situation isn’t any different, especially when you consider that most men act as predators and prey upon women, but that is another story for another time.

Getting back to what I was trying to explain before I interrupted myself, let me continue. Once she is in the vicinity of humans and feels that she can hide herself amongst us, she also knows the bear (who is following her) will attract plenty of attention to himself, especially once he is seen hanging around our community. She is certain that once the bear has been spotted lurking about, and most likely making a nuisance of himself, that he will be hunted and returned to the woods or, hopefully he will be killed. Having him killed would be her first choice, for that would be one less bear to to worry about. She is also certain that he will be caught while ransacking through someone's kitchen. While the townsfolk are busy chasing the bear, she lies comfortably in the spot nestled for herself until she has given birth.

Thus proven she has outsmarted both man and bear, her only concern is to remain on the outlook for the next beast who is anxiously gaming to prey upon her tail!