Frank Roach, a resident of Kenai's Old Town, says he won't pay a $310 ticket issued by Kenai police, and upheld last week by a judge, for routinely feeding a young moose through a window in his house. Roach claims he can't be charged with "feeding game" because the moose -- he named it Mongo -- is too young to be hunted. But police say Roach's neighbors are fed up: The moose has become aggressive in approaching them. Officer Todd Hamilton told the judge he has had to pepper-spray the moose, reported the Peninsula Clarion.
Up until a month ago, the 1-year-old male moose could wander over to Frank Roach's yard, tap on the window with his fuzzy brown snout, and receive a wealth of tasty goodies: corn dogs, trail mix, beef jerky, tortillas, cookies, Ramen noodles. Basically the staple cuisine of any broke college kid.
Roach, a 51-year-old man who lives alone in a tiny apartment on Broad Street, said Mongo's favorite food is Ritz crackers, sometimes with peanut butter on top.
"He likes that buttery flavor," agreed Randy Gale, Roach's 46-year-old neighbor who has also become quite fond of Mongo.
Roach witnessed Mongo's birth in some nearby woods about a year ago, and the baby moose and his mother soon became permanent fixtures in the neighborhood. Roach said he never fed the cow or her calf until a couple months ago, when Mongo's mother disappeared.
"I felt sorry for Mongo because he was so hungry," Roach explained, speculating that his mother either cut him loose or died.
Roach hasn't made any attempt to hide his alleged transgressions. He's posted several videos of the moose at his window on YouTube.
Larry Lewis of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game says Roach may well believe he did the right thing by feeding the moose but has in reality endangered it for the long term. Roach claims he has stopped feeding the moose -- but admits it still comes up to the window to lick crumbs from the sill.
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