In May 2018, an Estonian soldier named Erich Jyri Prikko was participating in military exercises in a forest near Lake Võrtsjärv. At one point, Prikko walked alone into the forest, searching for an ‘alternative bathroom.’
As Prikko walked through the forest, he heard a strange sound. Then, he noticed a small brown animal walking towards him. When the animal got closer, Prikko realized it was a baby moose.
The moose was all alone in the forest. Prikko decided to sit down, hoping that the baby moose would lose interest in him and go back to his mom. But as soon as Prikko sat down, the moose walked up to him.
“He slowly walked towards me,” Prikko told The Dodo. “He was quite shy at first, but he finally decided that I seemed to be trustworthy and came very close to me.”
The moose started nuzzling with Prikko. Clearly, the moose could tell Prikko was a friend!
As Prikko and the moose spent more time together, it seemed like the moose started thinking that Prikko was his mom:
“He even tried to find something under my armpit,” Prikko said. “He might have thought that I have mammary glands.”
Prikko wanted to help his new moose friend find his real mom, but he wasn’t sure how to do that.
He called the Estonian army’s veterinarian office, and they told him the best thing to do was to bring the moose back to where Prikko found him. Then, he should leave the moose alone and monitor the situation from afar.
The veterinarian believed the moose’s mom would come back for him.
A veterinarian met Prikko with a bottle of milk in case the baby’s mom didn’t show up. That night, Prikko headed back to his camp, which was near where he left the moose. In the middle of the night, he and the other soldiers at his camp heard a moose calling.
In the morning, Prikko went back to the forest. The little baby moose was gone.
Prikko is grateful that the baby moose found his mom.
“I wanted the calf’s mother to find him and I was very satisfied when we found out that they really found each other.”
Prikko did a great job looking after a baby moose who had no one else in the world. Thanks to him, this baby moose is safe and sound with his mom!
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