An incredibly busy winter season, with the release of 100 wood bison, downplayed the anticipation for what has become a very busy start to the summer for the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (AWCC).
The Wildlife Center had a somewhat routine May on campus with four wood bison and two musk ox calves born, until this past weekend, which brought two additional moose calves to the facility.
The first moose calf, Toklat, was orphaned from Tok earlier this week when efforts to locate his mother were unsuccessful. The second male, orphaned from Soldotna, is estimated to be as young as just five days old. Both males are estimated to be around one week of age and are doing well under the care of Wildlife Center staff. The two ox calves are named Yukon and Susitna, as the theme for this seasons calves is Alaskan Rivers.
The Wildlife Center is also expecting a number of elk calves this summer and could still care for additional orphans from the wild. Though the Wildlife Center staff take pride in the rearing of orphaned wildlife, it is essential to not interfere with wild animals in any setting without the proper training and approval from authorities.