There are lots of good reasons to stay in the lower 48. Hawaii looks nice, but it is just a bunch of volcanoes, and it’s a ridiculous plane ride away. I could probably be persuaded to go there because of the scenery. Alaska? Hell no.
Alaska is cold, barren, remote, very close to Russia, and apparently crawling with moose. Not the adorable kind with the flying squirrel, either. Big, angry, powerful moose that don’t give even the slightest regard to humans.
Even the younger moose (mooses?) don’t fear people. Recently, a young moose strolled into an Alaskan movie theater and helped himself to some tasty treats before going on his way back to doing whatever moose do. Check this out.
One movie theater in Alaska had a unique patron show up seeking snacks at the concession stand.
On the evening of April 19, NBC affiliate KTUU reported that Kenai Cinemas had an unexpected guest show up to the theater. Ricky Black, the general manager at Kenai Cinemas, told the affiliate that a young moose came into the theater around 9 p.m. and was there for about five minutes.
This sort of thing happens with bears in the south all the time. However, we build houses in the bears’ backyard, so that is understandable. This moose decided to take the bus uptown and hit the Cineplex, perhaps for the latest Disney offering. Luckily for the moose, he was escorted out before he had to sit through the latest bomb from the Mouse.
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In surveillance video shared by the affiliate, the moose appeared to sniff around the concession stand before walking over to a counter where the animal helped itself to an abandoned tray of popcorn. After its first snack, the moose turned to a garbage can for more treats, even getting its mouth and nose stuck inside of a Happy Meal box from McDonald’s.
Abandoned popcorn, Happy Meal boxes, what kind of movie theaters are these Alaskans running? No wonder this hungry fella decided to sneak in without a ticket.
“Our popcorn had him enticed,” Black said. “He was pretty focused on that. I guess he was tired of eating bark for the winter.”
Black said the moose was able to enter the theater because a door was left open to allow cold air into the building. He explained, “We prop the door open quite often during this time of the year because it’s just so nice outside, and you want to let some of that fresh air in.”
Bark would get old fast. A young, growing moose needs an occasional burger and fries, and maybe some popcorn for desert. Hopefully, our young moose also got the toy from the Happy Meal box. The moose was shooed out without incident. However, if that had been a full-grown moose, the outcome would have been much more frightening.
Even if the young moose was harmless, Black, who is from Arkansas, said it would have been a different situation if an adult moose had entered the premise. Black told the affiliate, “I would not have the same reaction to a bull moose in rut season, or a mama moose.”
Black said he and his niece Jasmynne — who also works at the theater — are new to Alaska, so the incident was exciting for the duo.
“We both think this is just so awesome because we’re both just kind of fascinated with moose in general,” he explained. “Like, we’re still in that new-to-Alaska phase.
To be honest, after this incident, the “new-to-Alaska” phase would culminate with a leaving Alaska phase. Seeing an occasional fox or bobcat is one thing, having Bullwinkle wander into “Ant-Man and the Wasp” is another thing. A thing that merits a one way plane ticket to the lower 48. Ok, maybe 47. No way I’d go to California.
Featured image screengrab from embedded YouTube video