Finding a baby wild animal in nature isn’t all that unusual. So when he discovered a young moose calf, Josh Hohm knew what to do: Leave it alone and it’s mother would come along and take care of it. Unfortunately, that was not the case for poor Josh, as related in this disturbing post from MSN. Think Bambi by way of Stephen King.

For Josh Hohm, Memorial Day began with all of the magic of a Disney movie, featuring a new animal friend and an unexpected adventure.

Thanks to some Montana park rangers, however, it ended up a snuff film.

Moose_calf[1]Hohm decided to spend the holiday at the West Boulder Campground in the Gallatin National Forest — near Yellowstone National Park. He drove from his home in Bozeman to the campground and was walking around the woodland when suddenly he saw something move toward him. It was a baby moose, or calf, barely old enough to walk.  Like any Montanan, Hohm knew the calf’s mother couldn’t be far away. But instead of finding a moose cow charging at him in maternal rage, he discovered her dead body on the ground next to that of a stillborn calf. The surviving moose baby was on his own.

At least until Hohm arrived. When it saw the human, the moose calf came running. It bleated and cried in despair over its dead mother. So when the curly haired, wobbly kneed calf tried to nuzzle with Hohm, he let it happen. Hohm even hugged the little guy, snapping a selfie showing man and beast framed against a sunny backdrop.  It was a precious moment of interspecies sympathy: something worthy of “Free Willy,” “Flipper” or “The Jungle Book.”  But things turned tragic in no time… [continued]

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