Female moose euthanized after illness at Potter Park Zoo

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - A moose that’s been a fixture at Lansing’s Potter Park Zoo for five years has been euthanized after falling ill.

Zoo staff found the 5-year-old female, named Willow, down on Friday morning and unable to get up.

The Potter Park Zoological Society’s executive director, Amy Morris, says zoo staff “made the excruciating decision to euthanize” Willow after veterinarians couldn’t determine what was ailing her.

A necropsy will be performed at Michigan State University to determine what caused her illness.

The Lansing State Journal reports Willow was born in the wild in Alaska and became separated from her mother. She arrived at the Potter Park Zoo in 2013.

A male moose named Meeko who was also orphaned in Alaska joined her in 2014. The zoo’s moose exhibit opened in June 2016.

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Information from: Lansing State Journal, http://www.lansingstatejournal.com