The newborn moose chased onto the Big Lake property of Randy Richards and his family has a new home at the Milwaukee Zoo. It’s a journey that began with the moose seeking refuge by Richards’ shed late Wednesday evening.
“It was really young,” Richards said. “I don’t think it was three days old. Those dogs chased it into my yard. We kind of left it alone for its mom for awhile, but she didn’t show up.”
  
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“Well, we were really hoping the mother moose would show up,” Richards said. “But my guess is something happened during birth. She had her umbilical cord and her hooves were still soft.”
Richards was busy putting together some office furniture about 10:30 or 11 p.m. when he heard dogs barking outside. He chased off the dogs and watched as the moose found a place to rest. From there, he watched and waited in case its mother was nearby and responded to the calf’s pleas.
Some of Richards’ children watched over the young moose into the wee hours of Thursday morning. Richards credits Fish and Game personnel and Alaska Zoo for saving Robin.
“It’s just fantastic,” he said. “I was against the trooper’s suggestion last night. That didn’t seem like an option. It needed a good start in life. I didn’t think whacking it was the appropriate thing. Kudos to the zoo. They did a fantastic job. It was better than I was hoping to hear. They went above and beyond.”
For the zoo, taking in abandoned wildlife is nothing new, said Alaska Zoo Director Pat Lampi.
“I’ve been here for 23 years and I say we’ve had, oh, pushing 100 moose calves,” he said. “We’ve had as many as a dozen in one summer.”
Lampi said the zoo works closely with Fish and Game to find homes for animals like moose and bears. And while Richards praised the zoo for its efforts, Lampi returned the complement.
“It sounds like he did the right thing to contact Fish and Game,” he said. “That’s what we tell everyone (who encounters wildlife on their property).”
For now, Robin will stay at Alaska Zoo for about another month until the proper paperwork can be done to transfer it to Milwaukee, Lampi said.
Perhaps Richards and his family could cross paths with Robin again should they ever find themselves in the northern Midwest. In the mean time, he said it feels good knowing “we’re sharing our natural resources with Milwaukee.”
Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com.
Comments
14 comment(s)Bernice Mullins wrote on May 31, 2009 7:25 PM:
like Randy Richards!! The world needs
more people like him and his family. I hope
I get a chance to see Robin since I live
in Milwaukee and not very far from the
Zoo. Kudos to you Randy and Richards
family!!! "
Dory wrote on May 31, 2009 3:59 PM:
Funny wrote on May 30, 2009 7:55 AM:
Meadow_Lakes_Madman wrote on May 29, 2009 3:46 PM:
Patrick wrote on May 29, 2009 1:15 PM:
You are very lucky to have had this chance to get so close to this animal and have even a small part in it's new life. It really looked like a sweet critter and I bet it was a fun night with her around. I really must say again how great it was to see a man respond with compassion in this way. Your area has been taking a lot of hits lately Randy was able to change a bit of that perception with his caring way. "
Patrick wrote on May 29, 2009 12:02 PM:
Cassi Richards wrote on May 29, 2009 11:11 AM:
jessica h. wrote on May 29, 2009 11:00 AM:
Granny wrote on May 29, 2009 10:37 AM:
To C Johnson wrote on May 29, 2009 9:40 AM:
C Johnson wrote on May 29, 2009 7:56 AM:
Go Robin, and when you get a chance please send me a newspaper and not a story board. "
Patrick wrote on May 29, 2009 7:45 AM:
Of course he did not shoot the moose it states that very clearly in the story. If it was left up to the troppers tiny mind the moose would have been shot because that was the only thing he was able to think of. "
Tranny wrote on May 29, 2009 1:01 AM:
Patrick wrote on May 28, 2009 8:19 PM:
Because that is the only thing the troopers limited mindspace was able to come up with.
It looks like some "humans" do indeed reside in Alaska. Randy did the caring thing and the trooper only wanted death. "