A momma moose with one or two newborn calves in tow is a fairly common spectacle during springtime in Interior Alaska. Imagine my surprise while heading south down Clearwater Road, in an area approximately ten miles east of the “Friendly Frontier” town of Delta Junction. While driving to work I spotted not one, not two, nor even three-but four, spindly legged calves closely struggling to close the gap between them and their mother as she hurriedly sought a safe haven where all five of them could resume their leisurely browsing,.

I could scarcely believe my eyes as I watched the young family. I marveled at the beautiful mahogany brown color of the quadruplets and how they nuzzled their mother. Anyone who has ever had the chance to watch the social interaction between a mother moose and her calves can attest to the bond that is instantly formed when this largest member of the deer family brings forth her young. These calves appeared to be no more that two weeks old. Their legs were spindly and still somewhat unsure of themselves but they were doing a great job in keeping up with their mother. I observed one calf who was obviously the “runt”, make numerous attempts to suckle the mother, but at this point in time momma was only concerned with getting her babies to safety.

I had purposely left my home a half hour early so that I could get an early start to what I knew was going to be a busy day at the office when thoughts of a fantastic photo opportunity began to tempt me. Little did I know this opportunity was going to cause me to be forty five minutes late to work on that particular morning.

I quickly pulled in to the driveway where I’d seen the young family headed not realizing that in not wanting to spook them, my park job was directly over the bike path that paralleled the highway. I’d no sooner jumped out of my pickup when a helmeted operator of a four wheeler made it visually clear to me that I had parked directly over the path and he wasn’t happy about it.

At that point in time I could have cared less. My mind was on getting some pictures of this cow and her four newborn offspring. As I nervously approached the animals I began to take pictures taking care to keep a cautious distance from the mother and her babies. Numerous prior encounters with moose cows and calves had taught me the value of keeping plenty of room between me and them. Many Alaskan “sourdoughs” will agree that getting between a momma moose with calves is no less dangerous than an encounter with one of the bear species.

It seemed that the mother and her babies were almost enjoying, having their pictures taken. At one point the momma stood sideways to me while all four babies did the same and looked directly at me. I knew at that very moment that that pose would likely be the best picture I had taken. I took image after image all the while thinking how priceless these pictures would be if they came out decently. I knew they would most likely require some work in photo shop because the air was filled with a dense smoke from the recent string of forest fires that had plagued the interior of Alaska. This deer like group of animals allowed me to photograph them for nearly a half hour before they retreated to the safety of the thick willows.

Prior to having seen this young family this smoky morning, I’d heard numerous accounts of others in the area having spotted this clan. I had even caught glimpses of the mother at a distance but never with all four calves at one time. There were different opinions in town which ranged from the momma taking in a pair of orphaned twins to all four being hers. Biologist’s in the Delta area were fairly certain the former of these two theories was the most accurate, but for whatever reason, the sight of this group would endear anyone who enjoys watching newborn moose ( and what Alaskan doesn’t?) especially when there are four of them.
My first encounter with this photogenic group occurred early in May of 2004. Over the course of the next five months local Delta Junction residents were treated to frequent sightings. There were several articles written in the Fairbanks, “Daily News Miner”, that summer and fall detailing different accounts of sightings and opinions as to the truth behind the mystery of these moose. Fairbanks is one hundred miles from the area that this young family spent its first few months so it’s easy to see how this “moose phenomenen” captivated the hearts and interests of locals, as well as people living miles away in Alaska’s Interior.
By the time August had arrived it had become fairly common to hear stories and see pictures of this group of moose that had been taken by Delta locals from the decks of their homes or out the windows of their vehicles as they were passing through the Clearwater area of Delta Junction.

A local Delta woman, Lori Meek, had been the recipient of a somewhat mixed blessing regarding this family of moose and has warm memories of the time this family spent in her yard. For years Lori has watched as cow moose and their calves spend a good deal of their time at her home in the rural area of Delta. Lori has a special place in her heart for these animals and enjoys their antics right down to observing their “courtship rituals” during the fall “rutting “times. The situation with the quadruplet family was no different. Lori had given names to the four babies. They were Jane, Lena, Sherry and Jennifer, the latter of these names being the one she’d chosen for the runt of the group.

The summer of 2004 was not only one of the hottest on record for Interior Alaska but as a result of the heat gave cause for a record fire season. It’s a known fact that moose are not well adapted to heat and Lori had a plan. Lori had decided that the moose family might enjoy having a constant supply of water and much to her delight after filling her kiddy pool, the moose immediately began enjoying its cooling benefits. The young moose family would often spend the better part of the day and often into late evening before they would retreat to the neighboring woods to bed down for the night. These times of watching this group became very special for Lori.

On August 19, 2004 Lori made a call to the author of this article saying all the moose were there at her home and the momma cow moose was lying in the kiddy pool, cooling herself off. She asked if I was interested in getting some additional photos of this and I was immediately interested.

When I arrived at Lori’s home the sight of the cow lying in the pool was somewhat comical but upon further examination I realized that the mother didn’t look very comfortable but rather looked quite sickly. The mama moose was lying in the pool while allowing her head to roll around the edge of the pool with her mouth agape and her tongue hanging out. Lori and I discussed the obvious discomfort the cow was feeling and she commented on her thoughts as to calling the local fish and game experts to come and assess the situation. After taking a few photos I went home, meanwhile Lori called the Alaska State Troopers who in turn contacted the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Delta Junction.

An hour later I received a call from Lori stating that she’d observed the cow get out of the pool walk around the yard a bit then lay down where she had bedded the night before and die. “She just sort of flopped down”, Lori commented. Lori was devastated. Upon being questioned regarding the moose’s demise, Lori, a former Emergency Medical Technician commented that it appeared to her that the moose had a heart attack Lori began an all out attempt to do what she could to save these calves but officials at fish and game told her that there was nothing much that they could do except let mother nature take it’s course. In her efforts to save the orphaned calves she had began regularly feeding them fruits and vegetables she’d been given from the owner of the local grocery store in Delta until she was told it was illegal by wildlife officials. She was also informed that very young orphaned calves were sometimes rescued but that wasn’t the case with older calves. Even donating the meat to charity was out of the question because of the fact that the reason for the cow’s death was unknown.

The momma moose died on August 19, 2004. Several days later one of the calves showed up at Lori’s home with a broken back leg but left before the state troopers and a wildlife biologist were able to arrive. The following day another of Lori’s neighbors found one of the calves lying in his garden apparently dying of starvation. The neighbor took the calf to the local fish and game office in Delta and its fate was unknown. Without their mother to protect them the likelihood that the calves would survive was certainly lessened.

One has to wonder why nature can sometimes be cruel to his creation but no one can dismiss the fact that there is an extreme pleasure that man derives when he is able to observe nature and its oddities. After having spent nearly twenty five years in this great state I count the chance to observe and photograph this great beast and her four offspring (whether adopted or biological) as one of the most memorable and rewarding moments I’ve had.

I’m looking forward to the coming of spring when once again the moose cows I’ve watched all winter feeding on the willows and strolling past my picture window retreat to the woods in preparation of the coming birthing season. I find my self scanning the perimeters of fields and woods and taking quick glances down power line easements hoping to catch a glimpse of another early season moose birthing. The image of this momma moose and her four mahogany brown babies will forever be ingrained in my memory.