Last week, actress Vanessa Hudgens visited “Jack the Moose”, the three-year-old bull moose who performed alongside her recently while filming a scene for a feature production shot on location in Anchorage, Alaska. A few days after filming, Vanessa visited “Jack the Moose” at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.
Jack resides at the Center with three other orphaned bull moose – one other adult male and two yearling male calves.
Vanessa arrived with her sister, Stella, and mom, Gina. All are wildlife aficionados and toured the Center in well-below freezing weather. Besides “Jack the Moose”, the actresses and their mother got to meet two rambunctious two-year-old Kodiak brown bears – “Taquka” and “Shaguyik” – as well as lynx, muskox, caribou, bison, elk, fox, coyote, black bears and birds of prey.
The Hudgens family learned of the Center’s international effort to restore the endangered wood bison, a larger cousin of the plains bison, to the state of Alaska after a century long absence as result of over hunting. The family applauded the Center’s efforts to save all of the orphaned wildlife in their care, and were particularly impressed with the 100-plus head of wood bison destined to be released into the wild next year.
Rarely do zoological parks or other captive wildlife facilities get an opportunity to restore large, charismatic species to wild land and historic habitats, but the the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center was bestowed the honor and they were proud to share this distinction with Vanessa and her family.
