Political roadkill

Conservative candidate Mike Scott must be hoping that a wayward moose won't become a metaphor for Scott's political aspirations.

Scott while campaigning on the winding dark road between Smithers and Terrace hit a moose while driving on the highway. Fortunately for Scott, the candidate survived the one on one interaction between human and nature, something that can't be said for the unlucky bullwinkle, nor Scott's truck.

Campaigning at the best of times is a challenge in the Northern reaches, but add on the extra bit of excitement known as nature and it offers up many more challenges than those urban pretenders could ever hope to face.

The Skeena- Bulkley Valley riding offers up more difficulties than most. With 323,720 kilometers geographically, it's a riding that can take a candidate from a driving hurricane wind and monsoon like rains, to the white out conditions of a blizzard in a matter of hours.

Scott like his fellow candidates on the trail understands the unusual logistics of a Northern campaign, whether it be truck or car travel, float or bush plane and even boat and ferry rides. It makes for a time consuming and sometimes rather dangerous bit of campaigning in order to get the vote out.

Add in the wandering ways of ambushing wildlife and it's a task that is daunting at best. Always aware of looking for hidden advantages, one wonders if perhaps some DNA testing might be in order here, just what political bloodlines did that unfortunate moose have. A little Liberal or NDP DNA found in Bullwinkle, might feed the thoughts of many a conspiracy theorist.