An Alberta man was in the right place at the right time to rescue a moose calf caught in barbed wire.

The young animal was in clear distress after it got a leg tangled in the fencing near the town of Rimbey, Alta. on Sunday.

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The calf's concerned mother watched on from a distance as writer and wildlife biologist Chris Fisher snapped the fence with a wire-cutter.

“There’s very few things that are as dangerous as a momma moose,” Fisher told CTV News Calgary.

“With my wire-cutters I was able to snap the top wire which was wrapped around the front of the cow’s foot. I then got the bottom wire, which was wrapped around the back.”

Keeping one eye on the mother moose while he cut, Fisher watched it jump the fence to be reunited with the calf.

“Shortly thereafter the mother jumped over, scared me away and was able to free the calf,” Fisher said.

“When she started to approach I quickly backed away and actually didn’t manage to get the video of the baby worming its way free.”

Fisher said the calf had a few cuts from the wire but should be able to recover.

“With the mother approaching, I stopped recording but I can assure everyone that all ended happily on this Mother's Day,” he tweeted.

Fisher said he felt bad about cutting the fence, but there were no cows behind it and he was able to leave two wires intact.