Twin calves take their first steps

It's not everyday that you witness the miracles of nature. It's even more rare when it's a double miracle.

Victoria Hickey and Sarah Lochner took this May 2014 video when witnessing the birth of a moose calf in Eastside Anchorage, Ala. However, it turned out they were actually witnessing the birth of two calves and observed a mother's nurturing, as well the first steps by the young moose.

"I'm really glad I grabbed my nice camera," the videographer is heard exclaiming.

Soon after their birth, the young calves work to get in their first steps. While they work on their motor skills, the mother moose goes about cleaning her two youngsters.

While quite cute, the mother's act of licking the newborn calves actually results in more than bonding. Female mammals often clean the amniotic sac from the newborn immediately after birth, clearing breathing and further stimulating their young to movement.

A 2008 story by Tim Mowry of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner noted the high number of moose twins born in much of Alaska in recent years, mainly in areas where moose are new and there is an abundance of food, promoting healthy parents and reproduction.

Another witness to the incredible scene explained that the mother has returned every year for the past six years to give birth in the yard.