A teen was fined 250 dollars by the Flathead National Forest Service in Montana after a video showing him snowboarding down a mountain, chasing after a moose was posted on Facebook.
A teen was fined 250 dollars by the Flathead National Forest Service in Montana after a video showing him snowboarding down a mountain, chasing after a moose was posted on Facebook.
The incident was filmed one afternoon when he and a friend were at the Whitefish Mountain Resort.
The duo was on their way down the hill when the moose reportedly wandered into their path.
One of the teens said they stopped for a while, as did others on the trail, but then decided to chase after it.
The boy filming the pursuit can be heard laughing, but Forest Service officials didn’t find the vignette at all amusing, and slapped the teen that was going after the moose with a fine.
Said an official from the service, "We do have regulations about harassing wildlife, and this video fell under that.”
He also warned that the situation could have easily turned deadly had the moose at any moment decided to defend itself.
The video was also reviewed by authorities from the Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks department, who decided to not issue additional punishment as snowboarding isn’t specified in their statutes.
