Of Moose and Men: A Wildlife Vet’s Pursuit of the World’s Largest Deer

This is Dr. Jerry Haigh’s third autobiographical book. He also published “Wrestling with Rhinos” (2002), and “The Trouble with Lions” (2008). I have read “Wrestling with Rhinos,” but have not yet had the opportunity to read “The Trouble with Lions.” I can assure you that the book has been ordered, and this omission will shortly be rectified! In “Of Moose and Men”, we join Jerry in 1975, when he is still in Africa, and is just accepting a position with the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The book describes some of his early experiences as the college’s first zoo and wildlife veterinarian, and then plunges into his work studying cervids, particularly moose, around the world. Jerry guides the reader through a wide variety of moosey topics, ranging from the origin of the name “moose,” to an extensive discussion of antlers and moose sexuality, to fascinating descriptions of various instances of tamed moose around the world. He describes some of the early challenges he faced as a moose researcher working in northern Saskatchewan. These included discussions of the types of sedatives that were used (and the difficulty in acquiring them), and an ingenious way of weighing wild moose in the field. One of my favorite parts of the book was a section regarding a study Jerry participated in, which involved darting, attaching colored collars (this is pre radio collars), and weighing wild moose in the Cumberland Delta region of Saskatchewan. Jerry and the other researchers he was working with would literally leap out of a hovering helicopter into deep snow in order to guide darted moose into open terrain! Isn’t that what everyone fantasizes about when they think of wildlife medicine? All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was lucky enough to take a Game Ranching rotation with Jerry when I was in my final year of vet school. I was very inspired by the much broader range of veterinary medicine he introduced me to, and that experience has significantly influenced my career path since. I always wondered, however, how it was that Jerry ended up in Saskatchewan in the first place. He is from Scotland, his wife is from India, and they met in Africa. You would think they could have chosen from a wide range of much more exotic locales to call home! I am Saskatchewan-born, and I love my home province, but choosing to leave a warm, beautiful place like Kenya to come here seemed bizarre. However, Jerry’s deep love of all things antlered comes through very clearly in this book, and I think it goes a long way to explaining why they ended up here. I will say that I found the first couple of chapters a bit challenging to read. I had expected a format a bit more akin to Jerry’s first book, “Wrestling with Rhinos”, which was more focused on Jerry’s life. While “Of Moose and Men” is partially an autobiography, large portions of it sort of wander away from telling Jerry’s life story, and delve into various topics regarding moose. When I wasn’t expecting this, I felt like the story telling was a bit disjointed, but once I got used to this idea, it flowed very well. This book is definitely worth a read.

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