What’s brown, 400 pounds and a recent resident of Lansing? That would be Potter Park Zoo’s newest addition, a nine-month-old male Alaskan moose, alces americanus gigas.

Moose weigh approximately 30 pounds at birth and an Alaskan male can weigh up to 1,800 pounds as an adult.

This young moose didn’t have a short journey to Lansing. He traveled over 3,800 miles on a Fed Ex cargo flight from Anchorage, Alaska in order to make it to his new home here at Potter Park Zoo.  He was separated from his mother in nature and taken to the Alaska Zoo as an orphan to be cared for until his transfer to Michigan.  Our Animal Curator, Cynthia Wagner, was able to accompany the moose on his trip back to the mitten and it proved to be a valuable excursion.

“Having the opportunity to accompany the moose on his transfer from Alaska to Michigan was a very rewarding experience after months of planning,” said Wagner. “To take part in this journey was very worthwhile.”

With the help of our social media fans, and receiving over 1,200 votes, we were able to choose a name for the young moose. Fans decided on Meeko ("Little Mischief") with the name receiving over 500 votes. Come visit Meeko and Willow at the Potter Park Zoo TODAY!

Click here for additional information.