Whereas bighorn sheep, mountain goats and bison grown one set of horns in their lifetime, members of the deer family grow and shed their antlers annually.  The largest member of the deer family, the moose, is no exception.

When winter comes along, bull moose shed their antlers to conserve energy. Some of the big bull moose carry antlers on their heads weighing 50-60 pounds so it's no surprise they don't want to lug them around in the middle of winter when food is scarce. Come April however, they start growing a new set.

The antlers grow inside a layer of skin, which provides blood and nourishment. This bull moose, which I was lucky enough to find on several days inside Grand National Park, is in full growth mode. As you can see, the antlers are covered in skin covered with soft hairs, called velvet.

I found the bull moose in several settings: once he was in a dense forest, eating grass and later bedding down to take a nap. On the next occasion, I found him knee deep inside a pond.

Lucky for me, he was a good sport and posed in different poses for pictures!

Bedded down

Pretty soon now he'll start rubbing his antlers on trees, bushes, etc. to get rid of the velvet covering ... just in time for the annual mating season - the rut - to start!

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