British Columbia, Canada – A B.C. man has been fired from his job after saving a moose calf who he says was being pursued by a bear. According to sources, Mark Skage took action after seeing the calf on a busy highway, narrowly missing being struck by cars.
He claims that he pulled over and got out of his company vehicle, intending to scare the calf off of the busy roadway, but when he opened the door, the baby moose trotted over and attempted to climb in the truck.
Skage said that while he waited, looking for the baby’s mother, he noticed a black bear lurking nearby. Skage said:
‘After the second time she tried to get in, I looked up across the road, I just happened to glance over there — and halfway across the ditch, maybe like 50 yards, there was a black bear standing there,’
After spotting the bear, and witnessing the calf nearly getting hit by cars, he decided to drive the calf to somewhere safe. On the journey, he phoned a B.C. Conservation Officer Service, and ultimately the calf wound up at a wildlife rehabilitation center for care.
Skage’s good deed resulted in his employer, AFD Petroleum Inc., firing him for breaking wildlife protocols. Despite the loss of his job, Skage does not regret his decision to save the animal’s life, explaining his decision to CBC News:
“It wasn’t just one moose calf that God saved. It was a whole bunch … She’s gonna grow up and have lots of babies, and her babies will have babies. I think it’s a positive. I believe that in my heart.”
In a statement, AFD Petroleum president Dale Reimer explained the decision to terminate Skage from his job:
“Instead of reporting the situation to a conservation officer and allowing the authorities to handle the rescue and relocation of the moose, the individual made the independent decision to transport an uninjured moose calf, a wild animal, in the front seat of his company vehicle for many hours. This not only put the employee and other road users at risk but also potentially caused distress and harm to the moose.”
The incident is being investigated by B.C. Conservation Officer Service.
(Images via screenshot/Facebook)
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Yes, he did the right thing. HERO ! Very kind human. He stepped up, instead of dumping the problem on someone else.
FIRE THE IDIOT WHO FIRED HIM
Or boycott the company
I agree 100% – The world needs more compassionate people – not less! This guy is a hero and the company is 100% WRONG!
I think this man did an admirable thing by saving the calf’s life. In return for his kindness, he got fired! Shame on AFD Petroleum for firing him for lame reasons. They had all the what ifs as a reason, but he transported the calf safely. He should have gotten a raise. What if he had hit it and damaged the company vehicle!!
He did the right thing. I emailed his company and they didn’t even bother to respond to me.
Where did you get the email address? I’d like to send them an email, too! SHAME on them! This man should have been rewarded for having compassion for an innocent baby when there is such a deficit of compassion in the world today!
He ABSOLUTELY did the right thing!! Thank you for supporting him!!!
This man did the right thing, definitely! What half-baked excuses that person who fired him made!!! He/she couldn’t have cared less about that poor baby moose calf. I hope the hero former employee gets an awesome new job that beats his old one to pieces! He has my prayers and thanks for doing the right thing at the right time for the right reason!!! May Yahusha bless his compassionate heart!!!
What do you expect from a petroleum company? No regard for nature or wildlife. We should also boycott that company.
Losing your job for saving an animal at risk??? What has this world come to? He should be re-instated immediately!
The man should sue for wrongful termination. He saved a life for god sakes. It wasn’t like he purposely kidnapped a wild animal off in the woods to keep as a pet for himself or to kill and eat. The man’s employer did the wrong thing and there should a petition created to save the man’s job or at least given him a good severance package to keep him afloat while he finds another job. This man deserves a reward not the boot.
Shame on this employer!!! What the hell has happened that there is no value in life anymore?? This society is going to hell in a bushel basket because of this kind of stuff. Hardly anybody cares about anything except themselves. This baby calf was in a desperate situation and needed a desperate solution!! This man is a hero and has a heart of gold unlike the coldhearted employer. But what do we expect from a petroleum company??? They care nothing about the land that they destroy in the name of making money (billions) and they care nothing about the creatures that inhabit these lands!!! Praying that the rescuer ends up finding a job that appreciates his acts of kindness and that he finds a job where he makes exponentially more money. He deserves it!!!
Who knows how long it would have taken for the “proper authorities” to get there. He did the right thing in removing the calf from danger of getting hit (which could have resulted in a crash hurting humans) or from the bear to go after it. I thank him for using both his head and his heart!
May the Good Lord Bless this Man and a Hero to ALL !
This man should be honered for taking action under these severe conditions because saving a life has more weight than companys profit !!!!!
I would have done the same thing!
Whoever he worked for should be ashamed of themselves!!!
Kudos to Mr. Skage!!!
This company needs to go broke for they have no concern for animals or people. The black bear would have got it if he had just driven on. He is a hero in my book and hope he finds a better job with caring people. .
So according to this man’s employer, he was supposed to report this incident to the conservation authorities. By the time he did that the calf would have been hit by a car and killed. So, in other words his company wanted him to do nothing. Imo, his company was just interested in covering their ass rather than having any concern for the safety of their employee or the calf. This man did the right thing . I believe we’re put on this earth to have compassion toward all living beings and act on that compassion when called to. I don’t think all of that should be tossed aside just to hold on to a job with AFD Petroleum.
kudos to him, hopefully there is a better job waiting for him.
and if you watch the video the moose was neither harmed or distressed. she knew she was safe. like they would give a shit anyway.
What in the world.! A good man saves an animal and nobody got hurt and he gets fired.. God is really not in the Company’s heart. This man with get a better job with a better people and God will make sure of it. GOD BLESS
This is so wrong on all levels. He did the right thing by taking the moose out of danger. This is terrible & it may discourage others from helping wildlife. I wish him all the best & I hope he finds a better employer.
God Bless You for Saving That Youngstah!!
Too Bad Your Employer Has No Heart nor a Brain!!!
This man is a TRUE HERO!!!! Why on earth was he fired??? What’s wrong with this sick country???
This wonderful Human Mr. Skage did the right thing — to abandon baby to hungry Bear is unthinkable and it would’ve been depravedly cruel & unconscionable — as for Skage’s employer, AFD Petroleum president Dale Reimer, being a good Human in conjunction with being a good Businessman is desirable and worthy — it’s easy to be a businessman — any machine can DO it — BUT, to be a compassionate, sane, smart, rational, intelligent Human is key and what the world NEEDS — Press. Reimer SHOULD give Skage more money and better benefits.