Imposing
If you have the chance to spend time in moose country in fall, you're in for a treat. The mating season starts sometime in September and lasts into October. The big males (or bulls) fight one another for the privilege to mate with one or more of the females.
Here's one of the biggest bull moose from Grand Teton National Park in Jackson Hole, Wyoming in his prime. An imposing figure to meet up close!
Fall is the prime season to watch moose do their thing. Come winter they drop their antlers which significantly makes them less photogenic. During spring, they change to their summer clothes which makes them look scruffy. In summer, the males are re-growing their antlers (or 'paddles' as many call them).
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Comments
Thanks Roberta! That's bad news about the moose and ticks. In the NW I hadn't heard about this being a major problem. Moose populations are also falling in the NW, but research has yet to determine the cause it seems. Idaho for example will issue a lower number of moose tags for hunters due to the declining moose population. Would be interesting to dive deeper into the problem as on my travels through Canada this summer I also heard about declining moose populations there ...
He is a beauty, Jorn! I'd say "imposing" is an understatement! We have moose back in the Northeast too - but they are in trouble here from winter ticks. The frigid New England winters are warming up - allowing the ticks to thrive. The ticks attach themselves in the fall and feed on the moose all winter. 10s of thousands of them can attach on a single baby animal. In adults they cause anemia and weakness, draining the reserves the adults need for survival in the winter. the calves don't have the reserves - and don't most are cannot survive. In the last few years over 70% of calves have died from the effects of the ticks. Climate change is quietly - and quickly - effecting all of life on earth.
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