Oct. 4, 2009 - Bull Moose - A Close Encounter
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This year we again made our fall trip to the North Shore. During the week that we spent at Fenstad’s Resort, we had a close encounter with a bull moose. We heard from another guest that the moose was by some cabins at the other end of the resort. We jumped in our car and drove over there. When we arrived, some other guests pointed to our left and there was the moose, not 30 feet away. Diana started to get out of the car but quickly decided against doing that. We stayed in the car and I shot 177 photos. Here are some of the best ones.
Moose are such big animals, about the size of a horse. Males can weigh from 900-1400 pounds. Part of the reason they look so large is those long legs. Also, notice the long flap of skin hanging under his chin. This is called a dewlap. The purpose of the dewlap is unknown.
Moose are not well adapted to heat. They are unable to perspire so they are not found in areas where the summer temperatures regularly get above 80 degrees F. In summer they spend a lot of time in the water. This helps to keep them cool. They can eat up to 45 pounds of food in a day. They like willow and aspen leaves and aquatic plants.
At times the moose was so close I couldn’t get the whole body in my lens. Fortunately, he wasn’t aggressive. He looked physically healthy but this is definitely not normal behavior for a moose. Usually they run away at the first sight of humans. This one just didn’t seem to care that he was among people, cars, and cabins.
At first I was going to throw this photo out. Then I decided that I actually liked it. I could tell you this is a photo of the moose charging. However, that’s not true. He was just walking toward the rear of our car and I was swinging my camera around to get some more shots. I fired this one off as he was walking. Pretty convincing though, isn’t it?
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