Tim Hortons moose dies during surgery
Jim Moodie, QMI Agency
First posted: Wednesday, August 27, 2014 11:14 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, August 27, 2014 11:27 PM EDT
SUDBURY, Ont. -- Oliver the baby moose has died of a heart attack during surgery on a broken leg.
The gangly orphan arrived at the Wild at Heart Animal Shelter in May, just two days after being born, its umbilical cord still attached, as it tried to climb out of a ditch and onto Highway 144,.
Oliver was rescued by Stephane Desgroseillers of Copper Cliff, Ont., and became a media sensation after Desgroseillers showed him off at a local Tim Hortons while en route to the wildlife rehab centre.
On Monday, Oliver died during surgery on a leg it had broken on the weekend while cavorting in its outdoor enclosure.
"It's upsetting for sure," said Rod Jouppi, founder and president of Wild At Heart. "Unfortunately, rehabilitating a moose is not an easy thing. You're lucky to get 50% success."
Oliver was unattended when it was injured, so staff of the facility aren't sure what happened. Jouppi assumes he was "out running, jostling around, playing like kids do."
Jouppi and his wildlife-rehab colleagues knew the chances of a successful operation were slim, but "because we had so much of an emotional investment with this fellow, and everyone had tried so hard, we of course decided to do whatever we could do."
The death has been hard for Wild At Heart staff to absorb, especially since Oliver had already beaten the odds by surviving its first few weeks without a mother and last week had passed the three-month mark.
"The first three months are the most critical time," Jouppi said. "That's when we put moose on IV fluids and treat them with antibiotics; it's precarious to get them to that point."
Oliver had survived this iffy period, though, and was "doing extremely well" before it broke its leg.
"He was healthy, weighed close to 300 pounds, and his bone density was good," Jouppi said.
jim.moodie@sunmedia.ca
Oliver the baby moose is pictured at the Wild at Heart Animal Shelter, in Walden, Ont. in this file photo. The moose made headlines across the country after a northern Ontario man found him on the side of the highway, picked it up and took him to a Tim Hortons. (Gino Donato/QMI Agency)
Tim Hortons moose dies during surgery | Ontario | News | Toronto Sun
Jim Moodie, QMI Agency
First posted: Wednesday, August 27, 2014 11:14 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, August 27, 2014 11:27 PM EDT
SUDBURY, Ont. -- Oliver the baby moose has died of a heart attack during surgery on a broken leg.
The gangly orphan arrived at the Wild at Heart Animal Shelter in May, just two days after being born, its umbilical cord still attached, as it tried to climb out of a ditch and onto Highway 144,.
Oliver was rescued by Stephane Desgroseillers of Copper Cliff, Ont., and became a media sensation after Desgroseillers showed him off at a local Tim Hortons while en route to the wildlife rehab centre.
On Monday, Oliver died during surgery on a leg it had broken on the weekend while cavorting in its outdoor enclosure.
"It's upsetting for sure," said Rod Jouppi, founder and president of Wild At Heart. "Unfortunately, rehabilitating a moose is not an easy thing. You're lucky to get 50% success."
Oliver was unattended when it was injured, so staff of the facility aren't sure what happened. Jouppi assumes he was "out running, jostling around, playing like kids do."
Jouppi and his wildlife-rehab colleagues knew the chances of a successful operation were slim, but "because we had so much of an emotional investment with this fellow, and everyone had tried so hard, we of course decided to do whatever we could do."
The death has been hard for Wild At Heart staff to absorb, especially since Oliver had already beaten the odds by surviving its first few weeks without a mother and last week had passed the three-month mark.
"The first three months are the most critical time," Jouppi said. "That's when we put moose on IV fluids and treat them with antibiotics; it's precarious to get them to that point."
Oliver had survived this iffy period, though, and was "doing extremely well" before it broke its leg.
"He was healthy, weighed close to 300 pounds, and his bone density was good," Jouppi said.
jim.moodie@sunmedia.ca
Oliver the baby moose is pictured at the Wild at Heart Animal Shelter, in Walden, Ont. in this file photo. The moose made headlines across the country after a northern Ontario man found him on the side of the highway, picked it up and took him to a Tim Hortons. (Gino Donato/QMI Agency)
Tim Hortons moose dies during surgery | Ontario | News | Toronto Sun
