Moose Blogging

Since we’re talking about animals today.  And this has nothing to do with Sarah Palin!

I have mentioned before that we see lots of moose at our cabin outside Rocky Mountain National Park.  Many people believe that moose are elusive but actually they just have a pretty limited habitat.  Unlike deer and elk, which will eat pretty much anything that grows in the ground, moose are picky eaters.  Their very favorite thing to eat is the leaves and shoots of willows that grow along riverbeds and lakes.  Our cabin is near a small lake and wetlands so it is pretty much perfect habitat for the big guys.  Other things that moose like to eat are the leaves, shoots and bark of aspen trees (they strip the bark off with their teeth), tips of spruce tree branches (yuck!), various small woodland shrubs and, apparently, dandelions.

More mooses and bonus pics after the fold.

This mom and her two half grown twins wandered between our cabin and the one next door.  We took this pic from the kitchen window.

I had a “brush with eternity” with this mom and her babies about a week before we shot this.  I was walking my dogs on the road near a heavily wooded area when she shot out of the trees and charged us.  She was aiming for the dogs and not me which did not make it any less scary!  Fortunately my dogs were on leash so I dragged them back off the other side of the road with me behind some trees.  She stared at us, breathing fire, for what seemed like an eternity, then turned and went back across the road.  It was only then that I saw the tiny (for a moose) twin babies back in the trees.  So her behavior was perfectly reasonable considering that the smell of a dog says “wolf” to a mother moose.  But I am very watchful now for moose mommies in the spring and early summer! 

Here are the same twins about a year old.  Mom had booted them out of the nest a few months before.

And here is one of them, now all grown up. His twin was down the road.  Unlike most moose, these guys didn’t go their own way after they grew up but have continued to hang out together.

Bonus:  Cute fox poses in hopes of a handout. This guy was a riot he just kept re-settling himself and looking cuter.  Finally gave up and wandered off.  I wasn’t being stingy - other than bird feeders I never feed wildlife on principle.  When these animals lose their fear of people it’s usually not a good result for them.

Aren’t I cuuuute!  C’mon, just a little crust of bread or something?  Pleeeeaaasse?

Posted by marindenver on 12/11/08 at 04:22 PM • Permalink

Sorry, commenting is closed for this post.