Friday, January 25, 2008

An Orphan Called Chapter One/ Part Two/ Starvation, Not an Option







.....This past week CO has tolerated freezing 40 mile per hour wind gusts with snow pelting her eyes and nostrils as she tries to eat. She has endured forced exertion wading through belly deep powder; consuming life dependent calories. I couldn't sit back and watch her waste away. We took action; I've been a mom too long not to do something. The choices we are making now will determine the quality of the rest of her life. To not eat even for a few days will debilitate her physically as a calf and within the next 16-24 months as a fit breeding cow. If and when she breeds her offspring could suffer frail physiology as well.* We purchased two bales of grass alfalfa hay, sweet to the smell and deep green with nutrients. CO's first reaction to this alien chow was to bed down in it. But it's her body and I trust she knows best. Later I spied her nibbling on the grassy stems but bedding still appeared to be preferred. I have since learned that grasses only make up 2% of a moose's diet.* We then purchased a bag of "deer chow" from the farm store that contained fiber, fat and priceless proteins. Her first feeding was the next morning after my husband, Marti, had started his van to go to work. She sniffed the fragrant pellets that we measured into a large bowl and shoved firmly into the snow next to her bed. We felt the pellets migh be difficut for her to scoop out of the snow and we didn't want her dumping them. She folded legs beneath her and began eating the store bought fare at a delicate pace very becoming of the lady she is. The sound of that engine revving up would soon become her breakfast bell.
.....We chose not to feed her too much, all though I had no idea how much too much was for a moose. I did not want her to depend on this minor sustenance for survival. It is imperative that she wander about during the day exploring and staking her territory looking for pine needles, twigs, and bark to complete her daily meals. A grown moose consumes large quantities of browse to stay healthy (I haven't come across any numbers yet) even a moose calf would need "a lot" to stay alive. Her immature legs and sinewy neck, I noticed, barred her from reaching up to skim conifer needles from most trees, but then again, the same snow that weighed her down also weighed the branches down. Is this Mother Nature's idea of balance? It's also a delicate balance for wild cratures battling the severe cold not to expend more energy than they are capable of gleaning. I trust her natural instincts are guiding her.
.....Next we offered her apples. We cut them in half to allow her mouth some gripping surface and stacked them next to her dinner bowl. She nibbled, munched, then savored this midwinter treat. There are uncultivated apple trees growing about the foothills where we live so I surmissed that the shiny red fruit would not be a foreign fare. And by her enthusiastic indulgence I was correct.
.....The last human influenced victuals we provided was a salt block. I observed her licking the hood and sides of our vehicles. It wasn't hard to figure out that she needed salt in her diet. The road chemicals were definitely not in her best interest, traveling down to the busy highway in search of this necessity would not be either. We positioned the mineral block in her feeding area and it became her new best friend. No more licking toxic road residue.
.....We have done all that we should be doing all the while maintaining our respectful distances from each other. She is still a wild animal and for her future's sake, she needs to stay that way.
.....CO's visits are more frequent and prolonged. I relish her distant company and thank her daily for allowing me to observe her. I have come to believe she is a gift to me from a Higher Source; a symbol of support to pursue passions that have baeen waiting for me for half a century.
..... I have posted part two of my docu-mini-tary on my video site at http://www.metacafe.com/, just type in orphan moose. See you next week.
..... * Ecology and Management of the North American Moose. Franzman Schwartz publisher

Saturday, January 5, 2008

An orphan called "Chapter One"



.....We were adopted in the wildest way again. On a crisp January morning luminous with icy jeweled branches an infant tiptoed into our lives. Standing 4 feet at the shoulder weighing about 350 pounds she cocked her head quizzically flipping large meaningful ears back and forth wondering what type of creatures she had stumbled upon. Being human beings with unlimited access to life experiences and the internet, we knew in a minute we were being stared down by an infant moose calf. It didn't take long to figure out this baby was living solo. We had seen her, (coloration around his face indicates he is a he, but not really for sure yet)., and mom wandering about our property not two weeks ago; just before heavy snows hit hard and fast. Now we watched this gangly miniature wild thing wander aimlessly looking and waiting for a parent to return. So where was mama? Just speculation here, but the only predator thriving in this area is man. No hungry wolves, they would have taken baby first anyway. Grown moose, especially females with calves, are admirable adversaries for even wolf packs. They will kick and stomp with brutal ferocity to stay alive and protect their young. Definitely no grizzlies living on our mountain top awake or asleep. So one can be fairly accurate in deducing that mama was poached.
.....At this writing the youngster has been around for three days. she has been stripping fir boughs for nutrition, consuming snow for moisture and saving valuable energy hunkering beneath a grove of conifers less than fifty feet from our front door. On the first day she showed up about noon, slept a while, walked around for a while then wandered back down the path into the woods. Day two she appeared at exactly the same time, staying and leaving as the sun went down. The third day I pulled my Canon out of its pack and started filming this haunting creature. Why did she keep coming back to this spot? Loneliness, companionship, even from strangers .. sorrow? Maybe this was the last place she was with her mother. I wondered if she was getting enough to eat. Did the snow contain enough moisture to sustain her? If history is correct, we reasoned she was about nine months old. Moose calves are usually born late spring, May through June. So the nine months she had a mother to teach the basics of survival it appeared she learned well. The cow moose would have chased her out of the nest come late spring anyway when brother or sister was born. But until then it would have been nice to have that giant furry cushion of comfort standing guard beside you during this worst of the worst winter weather.
..... We will call this writing "An Orphan Named Chapter One," part one. Let us hope that by next week I can cheerfully write part two to this docu-minit-tary. Log onto http://www.metacafe.com/ and you can watch the saga unfold. Video will be posted January 10th. Type in the keywords "Travelin Yeti, orphans" See you next week.