An autopsy performed on a male moose that terrorized drivers in Minnesota's Iron Range region before a wildlife officer brought it to justice revealed the bull was infected with an array of different parasites that drove it into a homicidal rage, the Grand Forks Herald reports. The University of Minnesota veterinarians who performed the examination of the velvet-horned ungulate's remains made the chilling discovery of hepatitis due to liver flukes, hydatid cysts in its lungs, a moderate winter tick infestation, and brainworm in its eyeball. The other eyeball was presumably unaffected.
"There are quite a few more tests pending. But we can make a fairly educated guess that parasite infestation, especially brainworm, was a contributing factor to its behavior," Minnesota Department of Natural Resources wildlife manager Penny Backman told the Herald. The moose, who was not named in the report (presumably to protect the privacy of his family during this difficult time), had attacked a truck belonging to a logger near Eveleth, Minnesota and stared menacingly at a driver on a road near US Highway 53. The driver made a U-turn and left the area.