While we may not all put our lives on the line doing what we love, there are some that do. Outside of the obvious vocations such as law enforcement or firefighting, there are many others that put themselves in harm’s way to get the job done, or in this case, to get the perfect shot.
Dale Chorman, 70, of Homer, AK was best known for his feathered subjects, but when he learned of a cow moose giving birth on his property, he couldn’t resist the opportunity to photograph the rare opportunity. According to reports, Chorman had already been in close to the cow moose and her calves that same morning, but called a friend to help accompany him back to the scene to gather more photos.
In what some would deem as pushing the envelope, Chorman and his friend did eventually head back into the woods to find the cow and her calves.
“They were going down to see how close they could get to see if they could get any pictures of the newborn twins, but it was a really thick, real dense part of the woods,” Chorman’s friend and local journalist Tim Kizzia told Alaska Public Media on Tuesday. “It was thick alder and elderberry, like we know around here, and suddenly out of nowhere, that moose was coming at them. They hadn’t seen it.”
The two men attempted to get away from the charging cow, but his friend was the only one capable of such a feat. As he turned to see where Chorman was, he noticed his lifeless body laying on the ground as the cow was standing over him.
State troopers were notified about the attack just before noon on May 19, but by the time first responders arrived, Chorman was already deceased.
“Dale was highly experienced around wildlife. He was intimately familiar with nature, and had no naivete about its danger. This was not a hapless fool stumbling into danger — this was a person who went out looking for a great photo, knowing the risks, and got caught in a dangerous moment,” the victim’s son Nathan writes. “The moose, obviously, is not at fault. To the concerned neighbors I say — quell your primate spear rattling. The ungulate mother need not die. She was just protecting her offspring. Dale had remarked the previous day that the brush was particularly thick this year — thick enough to get closer than intended, and surprise a wild animal by accident.”
Wildlife officials are still investigating the incident and are reminding the public that spring is a dangerous time to encounter cow moose, reminding the public to give them their space at all times.
Feature image: Vicki Chorman, via Facebook
