Coming across an injured animal can be incredibly intimidating. Making the right decision is super important as every second counts. When this man discovered an abandoned baby moose he wasn’t sure what to do at first. He eventually nursed her back to health and she shows her gratitude to him in the sweetest way ever.
20. Returning Home
Image: Facebook
Erikas Plucas was coming back to his home in Lithuania when he saw a strange visitor waiting for him. Outside of the gates of his home was a tiny baby moose. She was clearly very young…
19. No Mother
Image: Facebook
Although the baby moose looked just a couple of weeks old, her mother was nowhere to be found. Plucas worried that the mother may have been the victim of a hunter attack and that the baby moose had managed to escape. Regardless of what happened to the mom, the baby moose was obviously abandoned…
18. Starved
Image: Facebook
It was also obvious that the poor baby had been all alone for a while as she appeared starved. “She was starved, dirty, sad, her fur was infested with flies, and she was so terrified of me when she first saw me, but was too weak to run away, to even get up,” Plucas told The Dodo.
17. Taking Action
Image: Facebook
At this point, Plucas knew that he couldn’t just leave the poor baby alone without helping her. He decided to pick her up and bring her into his home. He had no idea just how much work taking care of her would be.
16. Animal Rescue Services
Image: Facebook
As soon as Plucas was inside he went to the phone and called the local animal rescue services. Animal rescue would only be able to show up the very next day. To add to that, they also scolded Plucas for getting involved in the situation.
15. Hostile Situation
Image: Facebook
“I was met with hostility and contempt,” Plucas said. “‘It is illegal, you should not do it, let nature take care of it’ was all I heard.” Plucas decided to ignore all of the negative feedback that he received from animal rescuers and decided to help out however he could.
14. Helping Out
Image: Facebook
Plucas disregarded all of the negativity and decided to be proactive instead. He went out into his backyard and started searching for leaves to feed the baby moose. He also fed her some milk so that she could get her strength back.
13. Bad News
Image: Facebook
The next day, when animal rescuers showed, they only came with bad news. There was nothing that could be done to help the poor moose. “Since here in Lithuania we do not have a special institution who would take care of wild orphan animals, they called local hunters and asked if they can take her,” Plucas explained.
12. Not Okay
Image: Facebook
Plucas was immediately uncomfortable with the idea of handing the moose over to hunters. He, instead, convinced the rescuers that she would be better off living with him. “I insisted I should keep the baby, and they agreed,” he said.
11. Hard Work
Image: Facebook
Plucas was left with the responsibility of watching over the baby moose, whom he named Emma. The first few weeks were incredibly hard on him. He had to learn how to care for an entirely new species and Emma would often cry whenever Plucas would leave her side.
10. Scared
Image: Facebook
“She was afraid of everything but me,” Plucas said. In order to help her adjust, Plucas would often spend the night with her outdoors. He became Emma’s adoptive dad and Emma loved having her dad around.
9. Growing Up
Image: Facebook
Thanks to his dedicated nature, Emma began to grow and get healthier. Soon she was big enough to go out for regular walks in the nearby woods. Plucas began to consider releasing Emma back into her natural habitat…
8. Warming Up
Image: Facebook
At first, Emma was pretty scared of walking around in the woods without her dad around. Plucas continued to encourage Emma to walk in the woods and eventually she became more comfortable with the idea. He helped her figure out how to gather food and stay out of trouble.
7. Independent Moose
Image: Facebook
Soon enough, Emma began to warm up to the woods and began to feel comfortable making her way through them. Eventually, Emma made the decision to permanently live in the woods away from her dad. It was a hard reality for Plucas to accept…
6. Letting Go
Image: Facebook
Even though Plucas knew that Emma couldn’t live with him forever he still had a hard time letting her go. “I remember those first nights that she didn’t come home,” he told The Dodo. “Oh, I barely slept. But she grew up, I had to get over it. After all, it was my goal from the very beginning.”
5. Forever Love
Image: Facebook
It seems that the love between them wasn’t one sided at all because Emma still visits her dad every day. Although she now lives in the woods, Emma heads out to see her dad and the two can be seen playing around or indulging in a swim. Still…Emma is wary of others.
4. Special Bond
Image: Facebook
Even though Emma’s dad is a human she is still wary around others. However, Plucas knows that Emma is sweet and would never hurt him. “To me she is gentle and loving. She is very careful when we are playing, so she would not hurt me,” he said.
3. Protecting Her
Image: Facebook
In order to keep her safe in the woods, Plucas has gone out of his way to contact the various hunters that make their way through the woods. “I had some hunters over for them to see her as not just a nice, warm steak with potatoes and vegetables on the table, but as a very intelligent and loving animal,” Plucas revealed.
2. Exciting News
Image: Facebook
Plucas is now even more excited about things as he has reason to suspect that Emma may be pregnant. He is going to be a grandfather soon and he couldn’t be more thrilled. Emma and her dad have a one of a kind bond.
1. Her World
Image: Facebook
“I’m her world now and she is mine,” Plucas said proudly. “Sometimes I wonder, was it me who saved her, or is it the other way around?” Thanks to his heroic efforts, Plucas has managed to gain an amazing relationship with his moose daughter – what a world we live in!