We here in Anchorage, Alaska, live in the moose capital of the planet. The largest moose are found here in south-central Alaska, and in the city there are vast tracts of largely unspoiled woodland, prime moose habitat. I happen to live, literally, across the street from the second-largest city park in the U.S. of A., and it teems with all kinds of wildlife, including lots of moose. So we see them with great regularity.
Well, yesterday, I was doing some yard/garden work, and started to walk around the back side of the house, only to find myself being stared at, maybe ten yards away, by an enormous mother moose and two calves, born probably in April or early May. Now you don't want to mess around with a mother moose who stands six feet or more high at the shoulder and probably weighs eight or nine hundred pounds. So I quick ducked back into the house.
At which point I went out the back door to my deck, protected by a big spruce tree and railings all around, to watch the beasties. They saw me, too, from a similar close distance, but I was very calm and slow-moving (the latter is something I've got very good at in recent years*), and sat down on a bench, just to watch them.
After a half-minute or so, mom moose seemed to have determined me to be no threat, and went to browsing on a willow that has overgrown the fence on the back side of the yard. She clipped off a big sprig of it, and held it out toward one of the little guys, who took a bite, munched it, and decided that it was a good thing. Immediately both youngsters went to browsing on the willow branches. Mom then decided that corner of the yard was a good place to take a break, and folded herself down into a lying position, while the young'uns continued eating. After a couple of minutes, they too decided they needed a break, and joined mom in relaxed composure.
It was a lesson in moose school. She was clearly showing them what was a good thing to eat, and they learned a valuable lesson. This mom moose I have seen before. She has been around for several years, and is recognizable by a really nasty set of scars she bears on her left side, scars she bears from encounters with bears. She's also becoming gray**, but seems pretty healthy. I think she's the same one who gave birth to twins (they're almost always twins, for some reason) in my garden several years ago.
After a few minutes as I sat there sipping a glass of wine and watching them, I went inside to bed down myself. In the morning, they had moved on.
It was Alaska. An enjoyable bit of it.
caw
* Just ask my wife.
** As am I.
Well, yesterday, I was doing some yard/garden work, and started to walk around the back side of the house, only to find myself being stared at, maybe ten yards away, by an enormous mother moose and two calves, born probably in April or early May. Now you don't want to mess around with a mother moose who stands six feet or more high at the shoulder and probably weighs eight or nine hundred pounds. So I quick ducked back into the house.
At which point I went out the back door to my deck, protected by a big spruce tree and railings all around, to watch the beasties. They saw me, too, from a similar close distance, but I was very calm and slow-moving (the latter is something I've got very good at in recent years*), and sat down on a bench, just to watch them.
After a half-minute or so, mom moose seemed to have determined me to be no threat, and went to browsing on a willow that has overgrown the fence on the back side of the yard. She clipped off a big sprig of it, and held it out toward one of the little guys, who took a bite, munched it, and decided that it was a good thing. Immediately both youngsters went to browsing on the willow branches. Mom then decided that corner of the yard was a good place to take a break, and folded herself down into a lying position, while the young'uns continued eating. After a couple of minutes, they too decided they needed a break, and joined mom in relaxed composure.
It was a lesson in moose school. She was clearly showing them what was a good thing to eat, and they learned a valuable lesson. This mom moose I have seen before. She has been around for several years, and is recognizable by a really nasty set of scars she bears on her left side, scars she bears from encounters with bears. She's also becoming gray**, but seems pretty healthy. I think she's the same one who gave birth to twins (they're almost always twins, for some reason) in my garden several years ago.
After a few minutes as I sat there sipping a glass of wine and watching them, I went inside to bed down myself. In the morning, they had moved on.
It was Alaska. An enjoyable bit of it.
caw
* Just ask my wife.
** As am I.
.
.
