The Cochrane Ecological Institute (CEI) welcomed its second moose earlier this month.
Ferdinand, the newest addition to the wildlife sanctuary, was found in Millarville in the first weeks of June by a rancher couple who noticed the moose calf wandering along in their fields.
“They observed him for a couple of weeks without his mother – it is amazing he survived,” said Michael Curtis, CEI kennel manager.
Staff at the sanctuary estimate the calf’s age at a month, guessing that he was brought in when the moose was only two-weeks old, due to his size.
“He was brought in with cuts on his nose … right now he needs to regain his confidence back, he is traumatized,” Curtis explained.
The staff is accepting monetary donations for Ferdinand, and all the other orphaned and injured wildlife including a couple of fawns that were also recently abandoned. Taking care of wildlife is not cheap, Curtis explained, as the new moose calf drinks seven 750 ml bottles of fresh goat’s milk daily.
“Goat’s milk has the nutritional value needed for Ferdinand and it is the closest to wild milk,” Curtis explained.
Ferdinand is the second moose to join the CEI family, along with Gill the two-year-old moose who came to the sanctuary last year after he was left orphaned with a serious leg injury.
While the institute brings in a variety of wildlife species, the staff wants to remind the public that the institute is not a zoo.
“We are here to help rehabilitate and release the animals, they are not our animals to show off, we are just helping them until they can go back into the wild,” Curtis said.
Staff also wants to let the public know that despite Ferdinand’s rescue story, typically mothers leave calves during the day and if anyone finds any type of orphaned animal in the wild, they should call their local wildlife sanctuary to handle to situation.
The goal of the non-profit wildlife conservation, rescue, rehab and research institution is always to rehabilitate and release the animals back into the wild, if possible.
Animals that are released from the institute are taken to very remote locations, to mitigate the risk of human interaction.
The CEI also runs the adjacent Happy Tails Pet Retreat a pet boarding facility and its main funding source. All proceeds from the kennel go toward operations. The institute is open year-round.
The CEI is located approximately 30 minutes northwest of Cochrane, along Township Road 280. For more information call 403-932-5632 or visit ceinst.org.
