Wildlife

Orphaned moose calf rescued outside Denali National Park dies

A moose calf rescued outside of Denali National Park and Preserve that was later relocated to a Southcentral Alaska wildlife conservation center has died.

Mike Miller, executive director of the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, said one of a set of twin female calves died Thursday evening. Miller said a necropsy revealed a lack of fat on the moose's heart and kidneys, the result of poor nutrition after the death of its mother.

The moose were approximately 2 weeks old when their mother was found illegally killed near the park entrance on June 7. The calves were spotted in the area after the death, sometimes leading to traffic jams along the highway caused by curious onlookers.

[Related: A cow moose was killed near Denali Park's post office. Park rangers want to know why.]

National Park Service officials initially declined to relocate the calves, but later decided to capture them on July 8, after the animals were deemed a traffic risk.

Miller said being without their mother at such a young age likely contributed to the poor health of the moose that died. He said even though the calves were seen grazing, it's possible they weren't getting the nutrition they needed.

It was difficult to say whether getting the calf into the center earlier would have made a difference in its survival, he said.

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"A lot of things could have happened to make it sway one way or another," Miller said.

Dave Schirokauer, Denali National Park's science and resources team lead, said the stress of capture might also have contributed to the death of the calf.

[Related: No more 'moosejam' after Denali park officials capture two orphan calves]

"I wouldn't completely out rule it as (a) small contributing component (in the calf's death)," he said.

Miller said the center's employees are doing "everything they can" to keep the other calf in good health.

"(The calf) looks perfectly fine," he said. "It's sort of scary because even though it looks fine, you think everything is fine, but we're doing everything we can like the last one. But it's all up to it."

Schirokauer said the park was still investigating the death of the cow moose. He encouraged anyone with information to contact the park's wildlife hotline at 800-478-3377.

Suzanna Caldwell

Suzanna Caldwell is a former reporter for Alaska Dispatch News and Alaska Dispatch. She left the ADN in 2017.

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