Moose gives birth to calf in the parking lot of an Alaska hardware store

Onlookers stood by in awe for hours

Lucky patrons of an Alaska hardware store witnessed the first few minutes of a moose calf’s life, as its mother gave birth to the baby in the parking lot of the shop.

The newborn moose took its first steps across the parking lot as onlookers snapped photos and took video for their social media feeds.

A patron in the shopping centre told a local CBS affiliate that she had seen the moose cow acting strange before she found a spot for the Tuesday birthing.

“Seeing the way she’s been acting - not so much angry, but you can tell she’s just kind of like a little scared and timid and doesn’t know what to think of everything, because everybody has been showing up around the area,” Katherine Warren told KTVA.

“It is exciting, it’s a new life, you know, so it’s very exciting, but at the other end, she needs her privacy.”

Most witnesses were awestruck and excited, watching the pair of moose for hours.

“I just seen a brand new baby moose 15 minutes old born in a Lowe’s parking lot!!!” Ashley Wykoff posted to her Facebook page.

According to the I Love Alaska Facebook community, as well as a number of commenters, said that the mother moose had been chased into the parking lot by a black bear - although, the detail could not be immediately confirmed.

Moose have attracted the attention of Americans across the country, from Alaska down to a Boston suburb.

On Wednesday, a juvenile moose was spotted running along the block of a Belmont, Massachusetts. However, authorities were not yet able to locate the moose after it escaped their patrol.

Assistant Belmont Police Chief James MacIsaac shared one idea of the young, moose-on-the-loose's motivation with WBZ-TV.

“I think the moose just wants to get away from the traffic and everything else,” he said, “much like most people do.”