21st Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest People
The Man and His Moose

Alexei is a Siberian guy who dedicated his life to saving people and animals, domestic and wild. Once he saw an advert online where a hunter was trying to sell a moose calf he had found in a forest. A mother-moose sometimes leaves her calf by itself to go get some food, so there was no need to rescue the calf from its natural habitat. Alexei took the calf under his wing, named him Yasha, built an enclosed yard for him at the stables, fed him, became a mother figure for the poor animal. They truly developed a special bond, so it is especially tragic that the young moose eventually died after he swallowed a plastic bag that the wind had blown onto the yard.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 07.2022
Date Uploaded: 11.2023
Photo Location: Tomsk, Russia
Camera: NIKON D610
Copyright: © Kseniya Azarova