Takla Landing, located north of Babine Lake, recently celebrated their first annual spring cultural days by putting on a hunting camp for students of Nuswadeezulh, Takla’s community school.
As the group of hunters set out for the day, they came across a cow moose with two babies on the shore. The cow took one of the babies and ran off into the bush, leaving the weaker one laying by the shore crying.
The party waited near the calf to see if mom would return for her other calf. When it became clear that the mother wasn’t going to return the party took the calf back to camp.
There the calf was given a blanket to sleep on and one of the mothers at camp fed the baby calf a bottle of milk. The calf stayed at camp all day and was given food and “tons of attention.” One of the elders who looked after the baby named him Jeyo, which means bull-moose in Carrier.
Everyone agreed that the Jeyo would be best with his mother and took him back to where he was found. They hoped that mom would return for him during the night. When they went back in the morning Jeyo was still there and Mom had not returned for him.
Jeyo was taken back to the community where he spent a night at the RCMP compound and was looked after until a permanent home, suitable for a new born calf, was found.
The following day Jeyo was taken to the Northern Lights Wildlife Society where he is doing well. He will be rehabilitated and re-released into the wild when he is ready.
The RCMP would like to remind everyone that if you happen upon wildlife and it appears to be abandoned, do not immediately interfere. Mom could be close by and the baby may not actually be abandoned.