Coming soon to a movie theater near you: "The Big Miracle, Part Deux," starring the Alaska Moose Federation in the role of Greenpeace, and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game as a stand in for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In this remake of the film about the famous Barrow whale rescue now drawing movie viewers to theaters all across the country, the Moose Federation tries to lead moose away from snow-choked Alaska roads and railroads -- where cars and trains threaten them -- much like the whales trapped in breathing holes near shore in the Arctic ice were led away into miles and miles of ice never to be seen again.

None of the authorities on gray whales believed the big marine animals had any chance of surviving, but the whale "rescue" drew wide national attention and helped raise funds for the international environmental organization Greenpeace. Now, the Alaska Moose Federation, an Anchorage-based environmental organization, is hoping for a similar fundraising boost. Federation director Gary Olson told the Associated Press the organization has already received a $50,000 gift from Allstate Insurance Co. to help deal with what has been billed as a "moose emergency" in the 49th state.

The Los Angeles Times quoted the local "wildlife advocate" as warning that "the (moose) calves are the worst off. We've gotten reports of calves that have just given up, and the ravens are already picking at them, and they're still alive."

The claim could not be verified. Olson did not return phone calls. Susitna Valley area wildlife biologist Tim Peltier said he hasn't heard of any situations as dire as calves being eaten alive by scavenging birds. But moose in his corner of Alaska clearly are struggling because of deep snow. The snow pushes them onto roadways where they are especially vulnerable to inattentive drivers and makes it increasingly difficult for the animals to find or reach food.

A bona fide 'moose emergency'

The Moose Federation moved to try and head off the carnage back in January when it quietly asked the state Board of Game for permission to begin supplemental feeding of moose. That was followed by a public plea for Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell to declare a "moose emergency" because the animals were floundering in the snow.

Since then, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has issued the federation a permit to feed moose, and national media has picked up on the rescue theme.

"How to save a moose" is the way the Charleston Gazette headlined the story, although state Fish and Game officials haven't quite bought into the "save the moose" idea the way NOAA officials did with the whales in 1988. The federal agency continues to cling to the idea the whales could have survived, maybe.

It's nice to believe in miracles.

State wildlife biologists, however, appear to be realists. What is happening in the 49th state now "is not about saving moose," Tony Kavalok, assistant director of wildlife for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said Wednesday, "It has nothing to do with saving moose. It's about public safety."

Parnell, Kavalok said, "has made moose collisions a big deal. It's a big issue for the administration."