A couple in western Maine intervened in a tense wildlife encounter over the weekend, using their pickup truck to shield a young moose from a black bear that had been chasing it through the woods, according to multiple reports.

The rescue happened near Aziscohos Lake, a remote stretch of water and forest close to the Maine-New Hampshire border. The couple had spent the day kayaking when they noticed a moose calf burst out of the tree line and sprint toward the road, with a black bear closing in behind it. The calf's mother was nowhere in sight, leaving the young animal alone as the bear continued its pursuit.

With only seconds to react, the driver steered the truck between the bear and the fleeing calf, using the vehicle as a physical barrier to break up the chase. The maneuver startled the bear enough to halt its pursuit, giving the moose calf the opening it needed to escape back into the woods.

"I knew what I had to do," the driver told reporters afterward, describing the split-second decision to position the truck in the bear's path.

Neither the couple, the bear nor the moose calf was injured in the encounter, which was witnessed by others in the area before word of the rescue spread. Footage and photos of the confrontation quickly circulated online, drawing widespread attention as viewers praised the quick thinking involved in the intervention.

Wildlife officials generally advise against people inserting themselves into........

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