Hoose, Morse Or Hoax?
A Canadian man claims one of his mares gave birth to an odd colt. He believes the mare mated with a moose. The colt has longer than normal legs and a head very like a moose. Experts will conduct genetic tests but are very skeptical of the claim.
MONTREAL (AFP) - A rare mating of a wild moose and a mare likely resulted in the birth of a funny-looking colt with a big head and long legs, a rancher in French-speaking Quebec province said.
But veterinarians are conducting tests to confirm his claim.
Bambi, born 11 weeks ago in the Gaspe Peninsula after a mysterious conception, has the head of a moose atop a horse frame, Francois Larocque told AFP. "It's not an ordinary colt."
He told Le Soleil newspaper: "When the mare gave birth, my sisters said: 'It has a moose head.'"
Passers-by spotted more similarities to a moose in the foal: Bambi has elongated legs, likes to hang out in a nearby forest where moose typically venture, and sleeps lying down instead of upright like a horse, Larocque said.
A front-page headline in the newspaper La Presse quipped: "Is Bambi a hoose or a morse."
But Gilles Landry, a biologist with Quebec's parks and wildlife department, remains skeptical.
"I have serious doubts because there has never been a birth from a moose and a horse reported, even though some have mated," he said. "It's more likely that it's a deformed animal."
To tell you the truth, the picture in Le Soliel doesn't appear to show anything other than an ugly colt. (Article is in French.) Maybe from a different angle Bambi looks more moosey. Is that a word?
Well, if it's true, would it be a sign of the Apocalypse? Or just a chance to call out the only phrase possible in a situation like this: "Hi yo, Bullwinkle, away!"
By Hucbald, Monday, 24 July , 2006 @ 8:44 pm
*cough-BS-cough* There isn’t even a HINT of a dewlap under that colt’s chinny-chin-chin, so it’s just a fugly equine.
I mean, the farmer is a FRENCH-Canadian, m-kay? Sheesh.
/sarc
(Full Dsclosure: I’m a Newfie, naturalized a US citizen).
By Gaius, Monday, 24 July , 2006 @ 9:10 pm
Yeah, I think the guy has been nipping at the Quebec equivalent of Kentucky moonshine myself. That is just an ugly horse.
My wife (resident horse expert) says so, too. She had a horse with a head like a cinder block. That is not an exaggeration, either. I helped take care of him for years.
By jarrett, Monday, 24 July , 2006 @ 11:25 pm
We’ll just have to wait and see if it befriends any flying squirrels, unless you want to rely on the genetic testing.