Dog Sledder Kills Hostile Moose in Race

One musher in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and his dogs were safe today after he had to kill an attacking moose with five pistol shots.

Defending champion Joe Runyan held the lead today after passing four-time winner Rick Swenson in the 1,160-mile race.

Lorren Weaver, holding 44th place among the 68 racers still in the race and 78 miles behind Runyan, killed a moose that attacked his dogs on the trail between Skwentna and Finger Lake, race officials said.

Searchers had set out on snowmobiles Monday after two bush pilots reported seeing the moose attack a team of dogs.

One dog was gashed across the head, but Weaver, 50, a physician from Knik, and his team were otherwise unhurt. They continued into Finger Lake, checkpoint No. 7 and 193 miles from the start of the race from Anchorage to Nome that started Saturday.

Race spokeswoman Debbie Croutch said the moose was without antlers, but there was no report on whether it was a bull or a cow. Bulls have often dropped their racks by this time of year.

Attacks by hungry moose plagued racers during training this year, and some mushers carried rifles for protection. The animals, which weigh up to 1,800 pounds, have become aggressive because deep snow has made it hard to graze.

Runyan and five other veteran racers overtook Swenson during the sprint Monday from Rainy Pass to Rohn, 271 miles into the race. The group passing Swenson included his archrival, Susan Butcher.

Swenson is the only person to have won the race four times. Butcher won in 1986, 1987 and 1988, and took second place last year.

The Iditarod race runs from Anchorage to Nome, on the Bering Sea coast, and crosses frozen rivers, treeless tundra and huge mountain passes. Usually the race lasts 11 to 18 days or longer, depending on weather and other conditions.

Seventy mushers and dog teams left Anchorage on Saturday.