A young moose that won the hearts and minds of people across the state when she made fast friends with a German shepherd last year has died.
The Maine Wildlife Park said Thursday morning that the young moose, named Maggie, was found dead on Tuesday morning in her enclosure. A necropsy indicated she died from a brain aneurysm.
“With very heavy hearts, we sadly share news of the loss of our young moose ‘Maggie,’” the park said in a Facebook post.
In June 2018, a week-old Maggie made headlines when she befriended a Wallagrass couple’s German shepherd at Eagle Lake in Aroostook County. Shannon Lugdon, whose family owns and operates Lugdon Lodge, an adventure camp on Eagle Lake, spotted a moose calf on her property on June 2 and named her Maggie.
When she went out to look for the moose, Lugdon couldn’t find her — but her dog, Leo, had no trouble finding her.
“I let Leo out to do his business and he walked right over and Miss Maggie and Leo became fast friends,” Lugdon said at the time. “You can’t imagine how affectionate she was.”
A wildlife biologist later picked up Maggie, and brought her to Maine Wildlife Park in Gray.
“The staff at the Maine Wildlife Park are devastated by the loss, recognizing that Maggie was more than just a moose to us and her thousands of fans from all over the world. From the viral video of her playing with a German shepherd to her being viewed by a record-breaking number of park visitors last year, Maggie bridged two worlds. She served as a link between her species and our own by capturing the hearts of people everywhere. She will be greatly missed by us all,” the wildlife park said in the Facebook post.
This article originally appeared on www.bangordailynews.com.
