Photos and text copyright Romping and Rolling in the Rockies 2009-2017.

All photographs and text within this blog are copyrighted.

You may not copy or repost any photos or text without specific permission from the author of this blog. When in doubt, please ask.

Friday, January 19, 2018

A Moose Meeting

Today, we met a trio of moose. A mother moose, a young male calf, and a youngish adult male with asymmetrical antlers. He disappeared into the forest fast so I didn't get a photo of him.

The mother and her male calf didn't disappear so fast. We came up pretty close before I saw them. I hopped off my bike and started backing away. Fortunately, Shyla has trained herself to be amazing around moose, She stayed behind me, backing up in tandem with me.

When we'd gotten far enough away, the mother moose stopped giving me her stern and angry look so I lingered to watch for a bit. The mother resumed eating aspen twigs so I pulled out my point-and-shoot (that has 40X zoom) to take a few photos. It doesn't take great quality photos but it's perfect for when I see animals from far away on bike rides.

She's a beautiful animal with her typical moose goofiness.

She reached up high to chomp on some aspen twigs.

Then she brought her head back down to chew them.

Twigs must be tough to eat because she chewed for a long time. It is so hard for me to imagine that a huge animal like a moose can survive by eating tree bark and twigs all winter long. Yet, that's all that I see them eat.

Then her calf emerged from behind the brush. You can see his antler bud above his eye. He was obsessed with chewing on one spot on his side.


He then mimicked mom by eating the lower aspen twigs.

Then, he and his mom walked into the denser forest with nary a look in our direction. Shyla and I still respectfully made a large detour around where they'd gone before continuing on our way.
Even though I tend to think that it wasn't wise for our state to introduce moose to the area, I still enjoy every sighting. They are cool animals when they're feeling docile!

After that great luck, I ran into bad luck with my health later in the day. I'm heading to bed to nurse a migraine and a seized back.

20 comments:

  1. That's very funny you posted this just now. I was catching up on blogs and wondered if you had come across any moose recently. Pleased it all worked out well but sorry to hear you are struck with a migraine and sized back. I hope it all sorts itself out quickly for you.

    Kiersten

    ReplyDelete
  2. Those are fabulous photos! I sure hope you feel better super soon.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hari OM
    I find sharpness is always lost with the long-stretch - but it is still great to be able to capture moments such as these! Sending some "POTP"... YAM xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. oh no on the migraine and back pain. so sorry, the Moose are magnificent to me. i love pelicans because they are so ugly and the moose are the same, plain and ugly but beautiful..

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love these. Miss the moose. It's amazing to me what they survive on through the winter.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ohhh how much we love this post of the this beautiful moose.
    In 2005 we took a trip to Alaska. During our 4 day land tour we went via special bus into Denali...just as we rounded one corner there was a mother moose and her twins. The bus driver said just 2 days before mom had been there grazing on some leaves and very pregnant. What a joy it was to see those 2 day old babes.
    Healing gentle hugs for you back as I hope if it feels better so with your head
    Hugs Madi's Mom

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm glad you had a safe encounter with the moose and can share those beautiful pictures. I hope the rest can heal your head and your back.

    ReplyDelete
  8. What wonderful photos! Your "typical moose goofiness" had us laughing out loud☺ We hope your head and back feel better soon.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Cold pack on your head, heat pack for your back, a heap of " Get better very soon" wishes winging north to you. The moose, what a wonderful opportunity, they are so goofy!!!So glad Shyla has Moose alertness and stays right behind you. And what a great zoom on your wee camera.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hope with sufficient rest, you fully recover. Moose are such incredible creatures. Have a good weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Knowing how to act around wild animals can make for rich experiences. Hope you feel better soon.

    ReplyDelete
  12. That mama moose looks very healthy. We are glad she allowed you to stay around long enough to get some great photos.

    Hope your back and head are doing better - what a bummer.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Feel better KB! I love Moose, never understood the obsession with them until we moved here and saw them up close and personal in Grandby. Now I get it. Great photos and great training with Shyla.
    Hugs,
    Noreen

    ReplyDelete
  14. What adorable moose they are. Mom prefers her DSLR, but there are times where the phone or point and shoot do the trick in the moment. It beats no photos for sure!

    ReplyDelete
  15. As usual those are fantastic pictures. I am glad Shyla behavess so well around the moose

    ReplyDelete
  16. Great photos of the moose, hope you are feeling better
    hugs
    Hazel & Mabel

    ReplyDelete
  17. Stop in from H and Z. Living in North Idaho saw plenty of moose, and even been chase by one.
    If you have time stop in for a cup of coffee.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I probably say this every time, but I miss seeing moose so much! As I read your post, I flashed back to one time we did see them in the woods when we were out mountain biking...but I don't think they hung around for us to watch.
    Do you think your migraines and muscle pain could be related? I only ask because sometimes when I get a migraine, I get other odd pains too, like lower back pain. I've never discussed it with my doctor. I don't see a specialist anymore for mine, and I find that regular doctors just think all my odd symptoms are in my head. LOL
    Jan, Wag 'n Woof Pets

    ReplyDelete

If you are a Blogger registered user, you can skip the step asking you to verify that you are not a spammer. For posts older than 5 days, I have comment moderation turned on.

Thanks for your comments!!!!!