RANGELEY – Not every moose in the state has its own Facebook page. Of course, not every moose has a name and an entire ski resort looking after it, either.
On Wednesday, an orphaned moose was relocated to a wildlife park with the help of a crew from Saddleback Maine.
Since October, employees at Saddleback had noticed a moose calf wandering around Saddleback Mountain. The young moose was named “South Branch Suzie” due to her habit of frequenting the South Branch skiing area of the resort.
“We always saw Suzie alone, but assumed her mama was nearby. It became apparent that she was on her own when guests were finding her standing in the doorways of the condos looking for shelter,” Jenn Farmer, wife of Saddleback’s general manager, Chris Farmer, said. “Once people began to pose with her for pictures and were petting her, we started making calls for help.”
Maine Game Warden Reggie Hammond hoped that Suzie would connect with another cow and baby living on the mountain and the cow would take Suzie in, but it hadn’t happened. On Monday, Jim Quimby, Saddleback’s mountain manager, heard that Suzie was on the trails and was almost hit by the groomer at night.
“That’s when we decided that something had to be done,” Farmer said. “We started a Facebook page for Suzie and within 24 hours she had more than 200 friends supporting her. I also contacted via e-mail several state legislators on the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife committee. A call was made to the wonderful people at D.E.W. Animal Kingdom and they pointed me in the right direction.
“I finally contacted Dawn Brown at Second Chance Wildlife, Inc. in New Sharon and she was already aware of the situation with Suzie,” Farmer said. “Warden Hammond has coordinated with Dawn as well as Inland Fisheries and Wildlife biologist, Chuck Halsey, for Suzie’s relocation.”
Saddleback’s owners, the Berry’s, provided the horse trailer to transport the calf to New Sharon today where she will be rehabilitated and released into the wild in the spring.
Suzie’s Facebook page can be found at facebook.com/sbsuzie
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- Suzie the moose peers from the woods at Saddleback prior to her rescue.
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- (Left to right) Irene Berry, Jenn Farmer, and Bill Berry watch as the moose is loaded up for transport.
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