Selfless Hero: Canadian Man Loses Job After Saving Moose Calf, Choosing Compassion Over Career with a Brave Heart

‘Halfway across the ditch, maybe like 50 yards, there was a black bear standing there,’ Mark Skage said

A baby moose sits on the floor on the passenger side of a vehicle, and rests its chin, eyes closed, on the middle control area.

Mark Skage says he rescued a baby moose from a bear on the side of the highway north of Fort Nelson, B.C. but was fired for breaking the company’s wildlife protocols. (Submitted by Mark Skage)

“Her and I kind of bonded on the ride home. I mean, shucks, we had, like, 5½ hours in the pickup truck together.”

When Skage pulled over, the moose walked over to the truck and began "investigating" the vehicle.

It’s always nice to have company on a long road trip — and in this case, a Fort Nelson, B.C., man says he found himself the unexpected companion of a moose calf, who willingly hopped into the passenger seat of his truck to escape the jaws of a waiting black bear.

But Mark Skage said he was fired for the act. His employer, AFD Petroleum Inc., let him go for breaking wildlife protocols.

The moose attempted to climb into the truck on its own.

Skage told CBC News he was travelling north of Fort Nelson when he noticed the calf alone on the side of the road, with no mother in sight. After the calf almost got hit by a few cars, he decided to pull up to try to scare her off the side of the highway.

Mark Skage was driving near Fort Nelson, B.C., when he saw a black bear approaching a moose calf, so he wrangled the moose into his truck and drove it five hours to safety.

As he opened the car door, however, the calf trotted over and started trying to climb into his pickup truck.

With the calf riding shotgun in his truck, Skage called his supervisor and the local Conservation Officer about his predicament.

“After the second time she tried to get in, I looked up across the road, I just happened to glance over there — and halfway across the ditch, maybe like 50 yards, there was a black bear standing there,” Skage said.

A baby moose looks out the window from the passenger side of a truck.

After waiting for a while to see if the calf’s mother would appear to scare away the bear, Skage decided to take the moose with him — calling the B.C. Conservation Officer Service on the way to find a place for the calf to stay.

Skage found a rehab center for Misty to stay at until she is ready to be released.

“It wasn’t just one moose calf that God saved. It was a whole bunch … She’s gonna grow up and have lots of babies, and her babies will have babies. I think it’s a positive. I believe that in my heart.”

A man with glasses, facial hair, and a wide brimmed hat poses for a selfie with a baby moose.

Mark Skage poses for a photo with the moose calf he rescued near Fort Nelson, B.C. (Submitted by Mark Skage)