Maine Shed Hunter’s Close Call with Rutting Bull Moose Goes Viral ~ VIDEO

Maine resident Caleb Lewis had an unexpected brush with wildlife while scouting in the woods recently, and it wasn’t just a story for the campfire.

The 27-year-old, who was out checking game cameras and scouting areas for moose sheds, found himself face-to-face with a massive bull moose in the middle of rutting season. What followed was a wild encounter that left Lewis bruised—but not beaten—and the internet rolling with laughter.

In a video that’s now gone viral with over 2.4 million views, Lewis filmed his close encounter with the moose as it slowly approached, clearly worked up from the mating competition.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Allagash Antlers (@allagash.antlers)

“That’s close enough, buddy,” Lewis can be heard saying in the clip, but the moose had other ideas.

Despite Lewis’ attempts to talk the animal down, the bull wasn’t having it, so he charged, knocking him to the ground.

“I thought talking to him would spook him, but he was too fired up. Before I knew it, he ran me over,” Lewis said. Luckily, he escaped with just a few bruises and a wild tale.

But the internet wasn’t going to let Lewis off that easy. The comment section under his post quickly filled with hilarious takes on his near-death experience, with people poking fun at everything from the moose’s “bombastic side-eye” to Lewis’ calm but ultimately ineffective efforts to stand his ground.

“Moose has been side-eyeing you for five business days, dude,” one commenter joked. Another chimed in with, “Bro gave you seven business days to leave, and you decided to size him up?”

Some viewers gave Lewis props for his courage—or what they saw as overconfidence. “Close enough was about 80 trees ago,” wrote one user, while another added, “That moose was looking like, ‘Bro, I’m giving you ample opportunity to dip.’”

Others couldn’t resist humor at the moose’s intense body language. One commenter said, “The most devious side eye,” and another quipped, “That moose is like, ‘Do you feel like you’re in charge?’”

Not everyone was poking fun, though. One commenter offered a more serious breakdown of the bull’s behavior: “For future reference, when a bull moose starts licking its lips, that’s a sign his adrenaline is kicking in. It’s like he’s replaying Limp Bizkit in his mind, looking for something to break.”

But most of the comment section seemed to agree that Caleb Lewis was, indeed, in the wrong neighborhood. “This is my house!” wrote one user, while another added, “Bro, you’re the one that’s close enough! Moose was like, ‘Wanna bet I can get closer?’”

Despite all the laughs, Lewis knows how lucky he is to have walked away from the encounter with just a few scrapes. “Getting run over by a bull moose was not on my list of things to do today,” he said, reflecting on the experience with a sense of humor. And while he might have walked away physically unscathed, the internet certainly isn’t letting him forget about his wild day in the woods anytime soon.

For now, Caleb Lewis is happy to let his viral fame speak for itself. But maybe next time, he’ll think twice before telling a 1,000-pound bull moose, “That’s close enough.”