With its head sticking out of the snow, the 1,000-pound moose was frantic.

The moose was up to its neck in about six feet of fresh snow and had tried several times to free itself from its icy predicament, Jonathan Anstey told The Canadian Press.

But its hind legs kept it from climbing to freedom when Anstey and about seven other snowmobilers spotted it Saturday while exploring a trail in western Newfoundland, Canada.

The snowmobilers weren’t afraid to help the animal, Anstey told CBC News. It couldn’t use its back legs, so they knew it couldn’t escape quickly and trample them.

The snowmobilers used their shovels to dig for about 15 minutes before the moose was freed, Fox 8 reported. Anstey said on his Facebook page that he and the others coaxed the four-legged animal out of the hole. The moose realized it could stand on solid ground, and pulled itself out, he told the Canadian Press.

The moose apparently took some time to gather itself, lingering for a moment, before it left, he said.

Anstey, who co-owns a snowmobile riding clinic, told Fox 8 it wasn’t the first moose the group had seen that day — but it was the only one that was stuck in a big hole and snow.

He said it’s “very common” to see moose during the winter months, adding that the animals tend to have hard time getting around in winter due to the “extreme snow depths.”

Although Anstey and his group decided to help this particular animal, Anstey said he doesn’t make a habit of rescuing moose, nor does he advise others to do it.

“We’d like to be known as a back-country riding clinic and not a moose rescuer,” Anstey told the Canadian Press. “We do what we need to do to help the wild as much as possible and give them their space.”