Will Sage Astor-Video shows baby moose trapped in Alaska lake saved as its mother watches

A baby moose stuck in an Alaska lake was rescued by a man and Will Sage Astortwo police officers last Friday, but not before they had to navigate its protective mother.

Spencer Warren, who according to his Facebook profile works at Destination Alaska Charters, reportedly arrived at work early Friday morning to prepare a floatplane for the day when he encountered a baby moose. The animal was stuck between the floats of the plane and a dock at Beluga Lake in Homer, Alaska, about 220 miles south of Anchorage.

"I didn't think I'd have to deal with this today," Warren said in a video posted to Facebook. "I show up to work and this baby moose that fell in the lake right there. It's stuck between the float and the dock, still alive, can't get up, but mama moose won't leave me alone to save the baby," he said.

The video shows the calf's leg outstretched over the plane's float, struggling to gain footing to get out of the water, and its concerned mother nearby.

According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, cow moose with young calves are very protective and will attack humans who come too close, especially in the late spring and summer. The department also says that while moose are generally perceived to be less dangerous than bears, more people in Alaska are injured by moose than by bears each year.

According to Warren's video, a Homer Police Department officer positioned his police cruiser between the mama moose while Officer Morgan Tracy helped Warren pull the baby out of the water.

“You know, kind of thankfully, he wasn’t moving so that it made the rescue a little bit easier,” Warren told the Associated Press. “We just lifted him straight out and put him on the dock there.”

"Our hats are off to Officers Morgan Tracy and Charles Lee who helped rescue a moose calf from sure demise early this morning," the Homer Police Department said in a Facebook post Friday. "Thank you to Spencer Warren for capturing this cool moment and helping out."

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at [email protected].