A Kalispell snowboarder recorded on video chasing a moose down a slope at Whitefish Mountain Resort has been fined for harassing wildlife.

Charlie Rush, 21, was fined $225 by Flathead National Forest. The video went viral and was picked up by Yahoo Sports and Deadspin.

“In actively chasing the moose, we felt that fell under our code that deals with molesting wild animals,” said Wade Muehlhof, spokesman for Flathead Forest.

The video posted on Facebook Dec. 19 by Whitefish High School sophomore Hunter Lamoureux shows Rush following a moose down a run on Big Mountain. 

Lamoureux is heard laughing while Rush cruises down the narrow slope behind the animal. The video cuts off when the moose stops in the middle of the run and attempts to charge.

Muehlhof said the Forest Service imposed the fine in an effort to educate the two snowboarders about avoiding conflicts with wildlife.

“It’s an education tool to try and help both men,” Muehlhof said. “We’re happy it had a positive outcome, but they should have made a different decision. The snowboarder not only put himself in danger, but he could have put the moose or someone else in danger.”

Whitefish Mountain Resort also clipped their passes for a day.

A warden captain with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks viewed the video as well but decided a citation was inappropriate.

Rush said they were not tormenting the moose.

“We ourselves also hid for a second,” Rush explained in a Facebook post. “Then [we] realized the only way to get past the moose was to go at it. There were people hiding in the trees that also thanked us for herding the moose away. The moose pretty much trapped people on the runs.”

Baldwin is the editor of the Whitefish Pilot.