Baby Moose Born In Hardware Store's Parking Lot

Oct 08, 2020 by apost team

Witnessing a moose giving birth probably tops the list of wild things to see. Witnessing one give birth at a shopping center parking lot? Well, that takes the cake. 

That's right, shoppers at Lowe's hardware store in Anchorage, Alaska, were in for the surprise of their lives when on a hot summer day in 2016, they saw a moose giving birth in the parking lot. 

Female moose typically give birth during the spring, producing one or two calves. Although these calves are young, they weigh approximately thirty pounds and can even outrun a human adult within five days after their birth, according to All About Moose. In a normal scenario, the male moose leaves after mating, leaving the female in charge of raising and caring for the offspring.

Moose are the largest subspecies of the deer family, weighing over 1,000 pounds and standing at nearly six feet tall. The extra height is mainly added by the antlers, which play a great role in mating rituals. The males often battle each other in a showcase of supremacy and the moose who wins the fight is chosen by a female for mating.

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While a moose is notably heavy and massive, they can actually swim several miles without a break. While swimming, they will submerge themselves for 30 seconds or more at a time. The running speed of a moose is also impressive at a shocking rate of 35 mph.

According to CNN, when Lowe's shoppers witnessed the bizarre occurrence, a crowd gathered around the moose to witness her giving birth. Local officials had to remind the people within the crowd not to get too close and disturb the mother. The driver of the parked Jeep was also kind enough to walk away from his car and leave the moose and her newborn to have a moment alone. Finding these sweet moments of nature is very easy in Anchorage, Alaska. There is no need to pay for a tour or find a guide because animals are a huge part of everyday life.

The mother moose has probably a year with her newborn before he heads off on his own. While moose have an average lifespan of 20 years, they tend to go solitary within the first year and begin to feel old by the twelfth year. Moose require a cold climate to survive, making Alaska the optimal environment to reproduce and raise offspring. This is because moose tend to overheat and lose weight during the summer.

As a consequence, the breeding rate decreases, and without mating, the population will stabilize or temporarily decrease. Warmer climates also create a new problem for the species. Tiny pests, called ticks latch on to the skin of moose during the summer and are typically a huge factor for the declining population and reproduction rate.

The incident in the parking lot was a miracle, no doubt, and has helped increase awareness of such wild animals. Anchorage is home to 1,500 moose that can be frequently seen in residential areas. Newborns are typically seen during the spring months and because moose prefer cold temperatures, it is common to see them in the morning and at night.

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