Shiras Moose

AlpineCutter · August 19, 2020, 11:16:36 AM

Saw 3 Bull Moose near my house the other evening. 2 of them were pretty good sized.

sawguy21 · August 19, 2020, 12:42:11 PM

They are looking good. Of course I don't want to meet them on the highway after dark. ;D

WV Sawmiller · August 19, 2020, 12:47:08 PM

Real neat picture. My daughter got married at Glacier National Park 6 years ago next month and the day before the wedding we had walked down a trail to a small lake behind the lodge hoping to see them come out at sunset. It got nearly dark so we left and on the way back we heard a gosh-awful moaning and spotted a big cow moose about 30 yards off the trail laying down. Evidently she was in heat. Our bunch were taking pictures and a couple of local ladies walked up and one started taking pictures with her flash on and the other was recording her on her phone. My wife told her to stop with the flash before she got us all killed as moose kill more people than bears and said that she'd give her some of ours. A bull about the size of the ones above came to her and they both got up and walked off. We paralleled them for a while then left as it was so dark it was no longer safe to be out there. On the way back the lady was playing her recording and I told her "Please stop that till we get out of the woods. You know bears do come to those calls. Can you please wait till we get to the parking lot." We gave them our contact info and left.

We got a call a couple of months later and it was the lady flash photographer wanting to talk to my wife about getting a copy of the picture. I yelled downstairs for her to pick up the phone and she asked me who it was and I told her "Its the moose lady" and I could hear the lady laughing on the other end of the line. They talked and Becky sent her copies of the moose.

AlpineCutter · August 19, 2020, 03:59:16 PM

In my real job I am a wildlife officer, the main problem we see with moose is when people encounter them while walking their dog. Moose see the dog as their natural predator the wolf and end up charging. The other problem as stated above is people getting way to close to take pictures.

Ron Scott · August 19, 2020, 04:01:15 PM

Great picture!

petefrom bearswamp · August 19, 2020, 06:12:33 PM

Great pic.
In my abbreviated Elk hunting career in my later life I hunted both Colorado and Wyoming.
In Colorado saw more Moose than Elk and almost as many in Wyoming.

K-Guy · August 20, 2020, 08:44:38 AM

Quote from: WV Sawmiller on August 19, 2020, 12:47:08 PMMy wife told her to stop with the flash before she got us all killed as moose kill more people than bears

@WV Sawmiller

It amazes me sometimes how stupid people can be in the bush. Years ago when I lived in BC, I spent a lot of my free time in the back woods fishing, I never carried a gun or felt that I needed one because I had educated myself about the woods and had common sense.

We had a couple attacked by a Grizzly one time and people thought I was mean when I said it was their fault. Typical tourists, they were quietly walking through the woods to get pictures of the animals, when they surprised the bear. It reacted by attacking and leaving. They survived not by skill but due to the fact that the bear didn't want anything to do with them but they got too close. People need to remember when you meet a bear or moose in the woods, they aren't meeting Yogi or Bullwinkle but a wild and unpredictable animal.

If you don't respect nature, it won't respect you.

thecfarm · August 20, 2020, 08:47:47 AM

Nice pictures!!

WV Sawmiller · August 20, 2020, 01:30:09 PM

@K-Guy

It amazes me every year how tourists get gored by elk and bison or clawed and bit by bears in Yellowstone and this year at Custer trying to get a selfie right next to the wild animals. I have done many dumb things in my lifetime, and have the scars to prove it, but messing around with 1,000+ lb wild animals is not one of them.

I saw the other day where some lady stopped to get a picture of her with a bison at Custer Nat'l Park and she got right next to it and it attacked and ripped her jeans off and went off with them on its horns and her car keys in the pocket. :D The bison had a calf which should have been an immediate flag to stay away from her.

K-Guy · August 20, 2020, 02:07:08 PM

I hope she learned something but I doubt it.

WV Sawmiller · August 20, 2020, 02:18:15 PM

Yeah, she probably learned to be sure to wear clean underwear. You never know when it will be on display. :D Then again, if I had a big angry cow bison charging me I'm not too sure how long my skivvies would remain clean either. :