When Mark Skage rescued a baby moose from the side of a busy highway in British Columbia, Canada, he didn’t expect to lose his job over it. But his employer, AFD Petroleum Inc., fired him for violating the company’s wildlife protocols—even though the calf was being eyed by a hungry bear just yards away. “I just couldn't do it, in my heart… Black bears are the number one predator for those calves,” Skage told the CBC. “So I just thought, ‘Well, I can’t take care of the predator, but I guess maybe I can try and help out this little calf.’” But AFD Petroleum officials slammed Skage for making “the independent decision to transport an uninjured moose calf, a wild animal, in the front seat of his company vehicle for many hours,” causing potential “distress and harm to the moose.” According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, some 40 percent of moose calves in certain areas are killed by black bears.
