The newest addition to the Cochrane Ecological Institute (CEI), nine-month-old moose calf Gill, is on the road to recovery following a November car accident that resulted in the calf being orphaned and battling a serious leg injury.
Clio Smeeton, president of the non-profit wildlife conservation, rescue, rehab and research institution, said she will monitor Gill’s recovery and should he heal fully over the next six months there should be no reason to keep him at the CEI.
“Our goal is to release every animal we are able to,” said Smeeton, who is celebrating her 50th year of the family operation, started by her parents.
“We are not a zoo…but we do want to make sure when we release these animals that they are capable of foraging for themselves; that they are of the proper age (when they would be weaned from their mothers); and that they are big enough for their age class so they won’t be bullied in the wild.”
Gill was brought to Smeeton by a Madden resident who at first attempted to contact his nearby wildlife institute, the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation (AIWC), who were unable to take the moose in (as large animal capture often exhausts resources for wildlife institutes, which are heavily reliant on volunteers and donations).
The resourceful individual was able to locate a horse trailer, and under the guidance of Smeeton he filled the trailer with apples, hay and a salt lick to lure the injured calf into the trailer and haul him to the CEI.
Upon Gill’s arrival, Smeeton was quick to consult with the Arrowhead Vet Clinic in Cochrane, who prescribed antibiotics to treat the infection in the calf’s front left leg, followed by painkillers for a short period of time and probiotics to aid the calf’s stomach from the antibiotics.
“He’s been an expensive moose — around $750 so far,” said Smeeton, who is gratefully accepting produce and quality hay donations. “He loves apples, bananas, potatoes, carrots and root vegetables,” she said, adding that combined with alfalfa cubes, beet pulp and hay Gill consumes around 30 pounds of food a day to maintain his key weight growth.
“You can’t give them grain, as their stomachs aren’t like cows or horses.”
Gill is kept in a smaller enclosure — so he doesn’t overexert himself and cause further injury.
Should he not reach full recovery, he would be released into the larger enclosure to accompany the resident buffaloes; the CEI spans some 140 acres.
While the CEI is always accepting monetary donations, they also encourage donations of meat — this season to keep their swift foxes fed through the winter.
The adjacent ‘Happy Tails Pet Retreat’ is a pet boarding facility and the main funding source for the CEI, as all proceeds from the kennel go toward CEI operations. The facility is open year-round. This year, due to the encroaching spruce trees on the pasture, Smeeton was able to raise funds by clearing some of these trees from her land and accepting donations from the public for Christmas trees.
She was also thrilled to have a horse trailer donated — which will assist the CEI in the capture of larger animals like Gill.
Animals that are released from the institute are taken to very remote locations, to mitigate the risk of human interaction.
The CEI is located approximately 30 minutes northwest of Cochrane, along Township Road 280. They can be reached at 403-932-5632. Visit ceinst.org to learn more.
