The Alaska Moose Federation, assisted the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, successfully captured two orphaned moose calves that resulted from a cow moose being hit by a vehicle on June 10th, 2013. The collision occurred on east bound portion of the Glenn Highway at approximately milepost 29. State Trooper dispatch contacted Alaska Moose Federation to arrange for the salvage moose to be delivered to an approved charity. Upon arrival to the scene, our salvage driver noticed that the cow was lactating which is a good indicator that she had calves. If alive, they would now be orphaned. The ability to gather this and other critical types of data (AMF has retrieved 496 moose in the last 12 months) is an additional benefit of the moose salvage program. The cow was then delivered to the approved charity.
The Alaska Moose Federation began receiving calls a few days later from the public about what appeared to be orphaned calves along the Glenn Highway. The sightings were in the general area near where the cow was hit. In situations like this, the appropriate course of action is to contact the nearest ADF&G and/or Alaska State Trooper Office(s) about the location of the potentially orphaned calves. If you see a calf that you believe is orphaned, do not attempt to capture or confine the animal yourself. This is potentially dangerous if the cow is still in the area or a bear is in the vicinity. Harassing wildlife is also illegal. Please leave this up to the professionals by contacting the area ADF&G or Alaska State Trooper office:
ADF&G Area Offices: Alaska State Trooper dispatch:
Anchorage: (907) 267-2257 Anchorage: (907) 352-5401
Mat-Su Borough: (907) 746-6300 Mat-Su Borough (907) 352-5401
Kenai Peninsula: (907) 262-9368 Kenai Peninsula (907) 428-7200
Fairbanks: (907) 459-7206 Fairbanks: (907) 451-5100
Repeated calls began coming in by the end of the week about individuals stopping to take photos of the orphans while parking on the side of the Glenn Highway. Alaska Moose Federation personnel confirmed this was happening on Saturday by visiting the accident scene. When ADF&G was originally contacted on Friday, biologists made several attempts to locate these orphans. The calves were later located on Saturday evening at approximately 9:30 PM. At approximately 11:30 PM, a male calf was captured by a team that included Alaska Moose Federation volunteers and ADF&G staff who waded in chest deep water to capture it. The other twin escaped back into the marsh so the second rescue was not possible at that time. The captured male calf was taken to the Alaska Moose Federation’s orphaned calf rescue facility in Willow where it is now under the care of two volunteer veterinarians.