As the Wyoming fall progresses, temperatures drop and the moose become more active in the rut. Finding them and watching their interactions is very interesting. They can appear to be very gentle, and sometimes very slow moving in the process. They can also move very swiftly and it is important to respect them and give them space.
Sometimes you see just a bull, sometimes you see a bull following a cow with a calf. This bull, cow and her calf were in a very picturesque area with a creek which they all crossed at different times.
Watching the moose interact can be fascinating. Recently I had the opportunity to watch a bull throughout a 24 hour period, photographing him and the cows he spent time with. Needless to say I was not present all 24 hours.
6 pm, he crossed the sagebrush flats heading for a location that has the things moose prefer, water, willows, shade.
0800 the next morning I was back at the location and there was a cow standing next to him where he was laid down. I parked and walked out on a path next to the small valley that I expected them to go down into.
0812, The cow has moved down and he is standing at the edge of the bench about to start down.
Once he was down near the cow he started scraping the ground, getting down to dirt. then he urinated on it, repeating this a few times. I’ve seem bull moose do this and elk, also. After he was satisfied the mud is just right he laid in it for a bit. This attracted the cow who came over and nearly pushed him out of the way so she could lay in it.
After a while he moved off and laid down. Since past experience has shown the moose will often lay down for hours (they are ruminates) I left to go do some errands. I returned later and both had moved from that spot. I hung around for quite a while and learned there was a second cow in the willows in the middle of the little valley. Nothing was happening so I went to lunch with friends.
4 pm, back at the site. The sun is high and the bull and cow are closer now and moving around. In the first photo he is checking to find out her readiness. She’s not interested and moved away, he followed her a bit then moved further down the valley. He took his time getting there, passing through more willows.
4:41 pm, When he got to the furthest group of willows two cows came out and hurried over to him. He spent some time with them, doing some sniffing, etc. Eventually he went into the far willows and they slowly followed him.
6:39 pm, he came out of the far willows, returning to the first cow, trying rouse some interest. She slowly followed him from where she had been laying down but then she started feeding on the willows. He eventually moved off, going back up the hill onto the bench. I left before he was all the way up the hill since it was close to 7 pm and the light was failing.
One morning I spent an interesting couple of hours watching several moose interact. Started out with a cow, calf, very young bull and a mature bull.
Then a couple of young bulls showed up and the mature bull sent them off, but they did not leave immediately and he had to send them further away.
After a while another mature bull came along and the two big bulls sized each other up.
Evenings are the time to search out the elk since they seem to leave the woods then to graze. The cows come out first then then the bull that has that harem. The bulls frequently bugle, as a warning or threat to other bulls. It can get interesting if another bull comes close enough to try to steal some cows or challenge the one with the cows. This year I did not get to see any real interaction between mature bulls. They will threaten and size each other up similar to how the moose do and once in a while it will come down to antlers clashing.
Early one morning I found this bull and cow at the far end of the campground, between the trees and the road. He was patiently courting her, with not much going on, really. Then along came a younger bull. The mature bull chased that would-be suitor away to the west and then both he and the cow laid down.
The younger bull was not discouraged and tried another approach, going behind us and easing through the trees to the east of the bull and cow this time. The mature bull was up and
after the persistent one yet again. The younger one backed off.
Then from the west came another bull, this one was big and mature and definitely not one that would simply turn away. This time they went through their ritual of walking near each other while tilting their heads. This seems to be a bit of a threatening action, very slowly done. This went on for a few minutes then each turned 90º towards the other and they were engaged instantly.
The action went on for a few minutes then the loser disengaged and left. It was very intense while they were together and it ended as quickly as it began. There wasn’t a second go ’round that I saw.
There is a great deal of respect demonstrated between all the moose, between the bulls and cows, bulls and bulls or cows and cows, though the latter will mix it up a bit once in a while. Not sure if that is jealousy, competitiveness or protecting a calf.
Last Saturday it was very overcast with rain every once in a while.
Barn on Mormon Row
Rain down here in the valley often means snow on the mountain tops and sure enough there was fresh snow up high. Since Sunday night was very clear I headed out to see if I could capture the moonlight on the mountains at a couple of favorite spots. The effort paid off with a couple of really nice images.
A friend who was camping here told me about a good spot for viewing elk. She said a good time is early morning so I went there so early it was too early for photos. But as I parked I could hear several bulls bugling and even the sound of antlers clashing. Wow! Where’s that sun when you need it?! Once it got lighter and I had the camera out I did see a bull with his harem. There were a couple of other bulls nearby but all were rather far away.
Chasing in interloper off
I went back last evening and the elk were out but again rather far away. I will return to the location.
borderbrae 