Wednesday, December 29, 2010

HOOFED MAMMALS: Moose Stories-V

There are six subspecies of Moose: a European Moose, Siberian Moose, Eastern (Northeast US and Eastern Canada, Western (north central US and  Western Canada), Alaskan (the largest subspecies), and the Shiras (the smallest and found in the Western United States). Now, when you see a Shiras Moose, I must tell you they don't look all that small. Bulls are still over 1,000 pounds. Colorado State Forest in Northwestern Colorado is an outstanding place to find these moose. The nearest "large town" is Walden, although only large enough for a Motel 3. (minor attempt at humor -- sorry). Cameron Pass which is about 100 miles west of Fort Collins and 30 miles east of Walden is a haven for moose. Willow and oak bush fill the meadows. So early morning and late afternoon there is a good bet you might find one-- or two. In early September (2009) I found three Bull Moose in the willows at daybreak. The following sequence is of one of those Bulls. First, he spots me: 


Then he decides to cross the road where there is a little more cover:


As he crosses the road he finds a "street sign" that makes a good "file" for scraping off the velvet from his antlers:


He finds one of the other Bulls and enjoys eating with him for a while:


In trying to get a better angle, I disturbed him, so he trotted toward me:


I got the message and moved away.  After a bit he became comfortable again eating while I watched:


After about two hours he walked off into the woods (behind him in the above photo). I was thrilled both being there and with my photos.

No comments:

Post a Comment