Becki Grady was driving to work on Tuesday morning when she spotted a moose trying to cross the road. She stopped her car and decided to take a photo of the majestic creature. But when she looked closer, she realized this was not a typical moose!
"I've lived in Alaska my entire life and have never seen a moose like this," she told KTUU. "I thought it had been injured until I saw that all four of its hooves were curved like that."
After she posted the photo online, the photo of an Anchorage moose with bizarrely shaped hooves quickly went viral!
There have been multiple moose sightings over the past few weeks. In June, Candice Helm noticed a mother moose with her two calves cooling off in her front yard sprinkler and captured the adorable moment on camera. Another Alaska resident was on his way to work, when traffic came to a complete halt as two newborn moose calves took their first steps.
According to wildlife biologist David Battle, this abnormality — commonly called "sleigh hoof" — is caused by a copper deficiency, which makes moose hooves grow faster than they can wear away. It won't do the moose much harm, but it will make running a little more difficult for the animal.
"More often than not, the extended hoof will break off on its own and it won't bother the moose," Battle said.
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This very special Anchorage moose was spotted over the weekend.
