Unseen danger in Alaska woods? Most often, it's moose.

DONNELLY — "Hey, John," my wife prods me, "the dogs are barking."

Like I'm not already awake. It's 3:30 in the morning and the dogs are going nuts in the yard. Unless you're going fishing or something, who wants to get up at 3:30 a.m.?

"Shhh, I'm listening." I listen to the type of bark I'm hearing. Does it mean there is a loose dog or an unwanted visitor in the yard that needs attention? I reluctantly roll from bed and shuffle to the door facing the yard, clad in my underwear and a headlamp. I shine the yard. Nothing is visible. The dogs are all barking toward the woods. What's there?

A trip around the yard with a light jacket pulled over me and sock-less bunny boots yields no visible suspect. No eyes shine back from the trees. In the morning, I query my family.

Coyote, says my daughter. Bear, says our handler, an East Coast transplant. My wife? She always thinks it's a bear. Personally, I lean toward moose.

There are more moose around than any other animal, and I'd suggest that moose are more dangerous than anything in the wild.

Though it is tough to access comprehensive data, it seems fairly obvious to me that more Alaskans are injured or killed by moose than any other wild animal. However, hooves don't spark quite the same fear as do sharp teeth, hence the heightened apprehension of bears.

I recall a trip to the Denali Highway when I was in my teens. A friend and I were driving slowly, road hunting, when a woman came running from the tundra onto the highway, waving her arms. We stopped and listened to her terrified account of being chased by a bear ("just over that hill") while picking blueberries. Naturally, my friend and I rushed over the hill to see if we could get a shot at this scary bear. When we crested the hill, we were greeted by a porcupine sniffing the overturned can of blueberries.

Fear of bears? No, fear of the unknown. Many who go into the woods camping, sightseeing or hiking are unfamiliar with the wildlife they may encounter and their general behavior patterns. Thus they carry their fear along with their backpack.

Caution is an excellent resource when facing any wild animal situation; fear is a killer. I think it fair to say that moose have the potential to be dangerous any time they're encountered on foot. Bears also have that potential. Wolf attacks are so rare as to be dismissible.

Use caution when confronting an unknown animal in the wild, particularly in the dark.

Humans use their eyes to navigate the world. The vast majority of other animals use their nose as their primary sense. Darkness blinds us and causes apprehension –- or panic.

I once was in a hunting party with a guy who was scared to death of bears. Naturally, he was the target of some good-natured ribbing. A couple of the guys in the party waited until this guy was sleeping and then growled and scratched at the outside of the tent he was sleeping in.

Unbeknownst to them, this dude went to bed with a loaded rifle tucked in his sleeping bag. He triggered the .30-06 in the bag.  Fortunately for all concerned, the damage was restricted to scaring the heck out of everyone and the sleeping bag. Panic and fear have likely caused more human trauma than animals ever have.

Search for bear attacks, moose charges and wolf encounters on the internet. You'll find quite a few stories about folks getting hurt while running from some imagined threat. Some accounts are quite entertaining. Most involve a deficit of common sense — and darkness. Get prepared before going into the woods. Knowledge is the equalizer in any wildlife situation.

Daylight and a morning search for tracks revealed that the perpetrator of my evening expedition to the dog yard was a cow and a calf moose feeding in the burn 100 yards from the horse corral.

It was important for me to go look.  We all need to know the reality of what is in the woods.

John Schandelmeier is a lifelong Alaskan who lives with his family near Paxson. He is a Bristol Bay commercial fisherman and two-time winner of the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race.