Mooseworld, Stories with Photos

Stories with Photos

"We have a couple cows and calves that winter over around the cabin. Deep snow and wolves run them off the treelines, their summer home. Cows teach their calves to return to the same winter quarters, so it pays to take care of your local moose and see the grown calf the following winter. I drop my firewood in winter and the moose appreciate it. You work at training the local cows not to be scared of your dogteam and snowmachines and they casually watch as you go by. I have a couple moose I can walk to within 10 yards of and they don't mind at all—sometimes I like sitting down and talking to them."

Mooseworld: This photo comes from Ron and Marge in Sutton, Alaska. For many of us such intimacy with moose is only a dream. Unless you live in close proximity to moose, be sure you are aware of our warning on Viewing Moose Safely.

"My wife and I were married in Door County in our home state of Wisconsin in 2000. We both decided we wanted to go to Maine to visit Acadia National Park, but mainly to go out to see a moose. After heading up the coast, we headed to Jackman in the northwest corner of the state. My wife said she was not leaving the state until I could show her a wild moose. We spent that evening driving the backroads in the area looking for any signs of the great animal. The next morning we woke early before first light to make our way up the highway to look for moose. We made it about 10 minutes down highway 201, when we saw them. There crossing the road were two female and two "baby" moose. What a great sight! We watched them feed about 30 yards off the road for the next 45 minutes. We took some great photos and had the time of our life. What a great ending to our honeymoon! This fall we are headed to Yellowstone, Teton, and Rocky Mountain National Parks. We are on another moose quest.

Mooseworld: Thank you to Aaron and Amy for this message and the photos. The best moose sighting next fall will be in Grand Teton National Park, although Yellowstone has some moose and many elk. It's more rare to see moose in Colorado, but if you are going to see them it would probably be in Rocky Mountain National Park.

"My girlfriend and I were driving down to the Quabbin Resevior in Massachusetts when we spotted this cow and her twins running along side the road. We stopped the truck, got out with camera in hand and managed to snap a few pictures as they crossed the road.

Mooseworld: We appreciate your sending this great photo. There is another nice photo of moose twins below, the most common number of offspring for a moose.

"On my last two trips to Moosehead Lake, Maine, I managed to get a pix of a bull in Spectacle Pond from Rt. 15. I was driving by the pond when I saw the bull in the water so I slowed down, turned around and grabbed my one-time camera from the console. As I jumped out the bull had already moved out of the pond and was heading into the woods, but I was lucky enough to catch him in the clear with my only picture. Saw two other large bulls and two cows on that trip, but no chance to get pix.

On the second trip in early November I was in the same area of Rt. 15 when a vehicle southbound flashed the lights to alert me and I saw a large cow in the grassy ditch on my side of the road. I stopped beyond her and then got out and started taking pictures from the road. She was used to traffic and I was able to get pix from the pavement and then, as she continued browsing, I was able to angle across the shoulder ditch and get close to the woods. With the snow cover she shows up quite well. Some moose in this area see people taking their picture and get quite used to it. A deep woods moose would never let you get this close. She showed no concern and was still browsing when I left. Saw four other moose on that trip including a cow and yearling at about 25 feet—no camera, so no pix."

Mooseworld: Thanks to Robert for sending these nice photos and the interesting stories behind them. They were taken in the late Fall of 2001.

"My wife and I took our bi-annual ride to Rangeley, Maine to look for chances to photograph moose. We make a weekend of it. I have tried for years to capture on film that one magnificent bull moose with large antlers. I have taken some photos of one in the past but had too slow film for the lighting and the photos have been unclear. Last week I took a waltz in the woods backtracking a fresh moose trail. I heard a loud grunt (it is rutting season) and then another. A very large bull was coming right toward me in the woods. Where would I go if he mistook me for a female moose? Well, he behaved himself, grunting as he walked right by me. I got the picture and am sending it to you."

Mooseworld: Thank you for the report from Maine. Whenever we learn about a close encounter, we are obligated to remind our users of the "viewing moose safely information" on our Web site—especially during the rut!

Mooseworld: Early in 2001, Ryan, a fourth grade student from Minnesota, corresponded with Mooseworld about his report on moose. We have wanted to publish it ever since but many of the pages didn't have the required resolution. Above is Ryan's cover and a page about "Family Life." We hope you can read "Moose wake up each morning and go eat breakfast. Then they will have lunch. Then they will have dinner and go to bed. Between meals they will deal with their enemies or spend time with their kids."

Here are two more of Ryan's pages on "Where does it live?" and "Interesting Facts." The entire report was wonderful and Ryan got an A for it!

"In our quest for moose in northern Idaho, we had the chance to see something very unusual. We were driving down an old 4 wheel drive road and came around the corner to the place you'll see in the picture we've attached... a mom moose with two babies. The moose were heading down the road and ran into the woods as we approached around the corner. I just got this quick shot before they left the road and disappeared. I thought you'd like it."

Mooseworld: It's common for moose cows to have twins, and these two look very cute. Recently in Wyoming we saw a group of either elk or moose in the distance and guessed they were moose simply because each cow was standing with twins. With the binoculars, it was easy to see that they were moose.

"Here is a picture of young bull that has been hanging around the house, July 12, 2001. We have quite a few moose around, but also have an increasing bear population that kills 85% of moose calf production in June each year. Not good for the future of the moose. Best book I have ever seen about the moose is Ecology and Management of the North American Moose. "Moose screams Alaska."

Mooseworld: Thanks for the photo. Based on your recommendation, we have added this book to the Mooseworld Bookstore. The writer told us that "Moose screams Alaska is a saying and added that moose licking salt of trucks is called "an Alaskan carwash!"

"From Coos County, New Hampshire: This full grown cow moose is threatening to charge. Her hooves are stomping, the head held up and out, the hackles beginning to rise, and while holding her head and this glare steady she was rapidly moving her hindquarters back and forth as if taking aim. I had taken a few shots of her when she suddenly had had enough of my presence and became aggressive. I immediately gave her space after taking this last shot! (I was in a car, but certainly not 'safe' by any means)."

Mooseworld: This is an actual report of a moose sighting complete with a photo, and we publish it because the photographer was in a car. It also gives us a chance to remind everyone about viewing moose safely.