Victoria Hickey and Sarah Lochner got the experience of a lifetime when a pregnant moose walked into a backyard to give birth. The incredible scene took place in Eastside Anchorage, Alaska where the ladies live.
While the sight of any baby coming into this world is beautiful on its own – there was even an extra surprise in store!
The state of Alaska offers some amazing opportunities to see wildlife. And every so often, people even get the chance to get a little more up close and personal with nature.
According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG), approximately 175,000-200,000 moose live in our most northern state. However, probably not all the residents have seen one give birth right before their eyes.
Fortunately for Victoria and Sarah, they were around when the female moose entered the yard. Quickly they pulled out their phones to record the miraculous event.
Standing back to give the pregnant moose (or cow) her space, the women excitedly waited for nature to take its course. Then all of a sudden, the newborn calf began to emerge.
Victoria and Sarah squealed in delight seeing the baby lying in the grass near its mother. Slowly the calf moved around trying to get used to its body, little by little.
While the women were over the moon already, they quickly made another discovery while observing the mama moose.
One exclaims,
“Is there two of them? I think there’s two of them … I think there is, there’s another one in there.”
Moments later the women decide that no, she only gave birth to one. But that all changes just a short time later…
Along with the birth, Victoria and Sarah also record the mom cleaning up her new baby. On the ADFG site they explain:
“After a gestation period of about 230 days, cows give birth to calves in the spring. At the time of birth, these babies can weigh in at a mere 28 pounds, but within the first 5 months, calves grow to about 10 times that size.”
There comes a point in the video where it seems the camera stopped recording. But when it’s turned back on a fun surprise is revealed a moment later…
At 3:50, you can see a second tiny head pop out from behind the mama moose. She had indeed given birth to twins! Now she had two little ones to get ready for the big Alaskan world.
Just wait until you see the calves learning to walk – it’s adorable!
In the video, we also get to learn some very interesting information about the mom. Apparently, every year for six years she had returned to the same yard to deliver her calves. It goes to show that she must have felt very comfortable there.
The footage is so breathtaking that it’s been viewed on YouTube nearly three million times. It’s received many positive comments such as:
“What a rare thing to see…. Such a precious sight! And, Mom is so tender with them both. I love seeing them stand up so quickly (a survival instinct)….. Thanks for sharing!!!”
Someone else wrote:
“Thank you, Girls, for sharing this adorable video! I love the somersault at the end – heehee. ‘This standing up is a real chore!'”
Press play on the video below to watch this miracle of birth for yourself!
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