This moose calf's mom was chased off by some dogs, and didn't come back to him. He's less than a week old - he still has his umbilical cord! The conservation officer intervened on the baby's behalf, and made preparations to get him to a wildlife shelter. He was going to be headed to the rehab shelter in Smithers, but due to the mudslide that closed the highway yesterday, ended up bringing the baby to the Rupert shelter in the meantime.
The shelter's owners gave him a rehydration solution, and the vet gave him an injection of precautionary antibiotics. Chad & I got to spend some time with him. I ended up spending about 5 hours with him, trying to get him to drink the goat's milk the shelter owners provided.
A few times he tried to suckle my NOSE!! - a most amazing, delightful & bewildering experience. By the end of the time I spent with him, he was quite excited to have the milk, and drank a fair bit. It was thrilling.
His prognosis for an uneventful release looks good at this point, though it will be several months. I'm going back shortly to spend some more time with him, and feed him some more; but in the meantime wanted to share some photos I took yesterday.
1 comment:
oh wow, that is so cool! Kinda a preview of what paradise will be like...er, minus the whole mother being chased off by dogs and leaving her baby :/
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