A moose attack
Five-time Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey faced an unexpected challenge in his quest for a record-breaking sixth title: a moose attack. On Monday, March 6, 2024, Seavey and his dog team encountered a moose on the trail shortly after leaving the checkpoint in Skwentna, about 12 hours into the race. The moose got tangled up with the sled and injured one of Seavey’s dogs. Seavey had no choice but to shoot and kill the moose with a handgun to protect himself and his team.
A time penalty
According to the Iditarod rules, if a musher kills a big game animal like a moose, caribou or buffalo in defense of life or property during the race, they must gut the animal and report it to officials at the next checkpoint. Seavey spent about 10 minutes at the kill site, and then continued his journey to the next checkpoint in Finger Lake, where he reported the incident. However, Iditarod officials determined that Seavey did not properly gut the moose, leaving behind the intestines and other internal organs. This violated the rule that requires mushers to “leave the carcass in a condition that will not attract other animals to the trail.” As a result, Seavey was issued a two-hour time penalty on Wednesday, March 8, 2024, by a three-person panel of race officials.
A competitive disadvantage
The time penalty could put Seavey at a significant disadvantage in the race, which covers about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) from Anchorage to Nome. The penalty will be added to Seavey’s mandatory 24-hour layover, which each musher must take at some point during the race. Seavey, who has won the race in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2021, is aiming to break the record of six titles held by Rick Swenson. Seavey is also facing tough competition from other top mushers, such as his father Mitch Seavey, who has won the race four times, and Aliy Zirkle, who has finished second three times.
A rare occurrence
Moose encounters are rare but not unheard of in the Iditarod, which is held in the Alaskan wilderness. In 1985, a moose killed two dogs and injured several others in Susan Butcher’s team. Butcher, who went on to win the race four times, was also penalized for not gutting the moose. In 2008, a moose charged at Lance Mackey’s team, but Mackey scared it away with a flare gun. Mackey, who has also won the race four times, was not penalized. In 2019, a moose ran across the trail in front of Nicolas Petit’s team, causing his dogs to stop and refuse to continue. Petit, who was leading the race at the time, lost his chance to win and ended up in 25th place.
