Musher Forced To Kill And Gut Moose That Attacked Dog During Iditarod Race

The well-known Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska got off to quite an eventful start on Monday with one legendary competitor having to shoot and kill a moose that attacked his dogs.

Dallas Seavey, who is tied for most Iditarod wins of all time with five, told race officials that he was forced to kill a moose after it attacked and injured one of his dogs. The situation unfolded not long after the event started, with Seavey saying it occurred at around 1:43 AM just outside Skwentna, Alaska.

Seavey "was forced to dispatch a moose in self defense after the moose became entangled with the dogs and the musher on the trail," officials said in a statement. "Seavey and his team were 14 miles outside of the Skwentna checkpoint on their way to the Finger Lake checkpoint."

The dog that was injured by the moose was immediately flown from Finger Lake to Anchorage to be evaluated by veterinarians.

(Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)

While Seavey had to react in the moment and shoot the moose with his handgun, he made an effort to gut the moose after killing it. Talk about having your head on a swivel, both as the moose was attacking his dog and after shooting and killing it.

"It fell on my sled, it was sprawled on the trail," he told Iditarod Insider TV. "I gutted it the best I could, but it was ugly."

Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Marshal Warren Palfrey explained that officials were attempting to utilize and salvage as much of the moose meat as possible.

Any encounter with a moose is noteworthy, but Seavey's doesn't exactly compare to an incident that took place during the race in 1985 when Susan Butcher used an ax to fend off another moose that killed two of her dogs and injured 13 others.

The Iditarod dates back to 1973 with mushers traveling from Anchorage to Nome over the course of anywhere from 8-15 days. Wind chill temperatures can drop all the way to -100 F.