Elusive Moose

Cory and I have looked for Moose in several places, from Maine to Alaska and have been generally unsuccessful. During a road trip to Maine we decided to find a local park and take a couple of hours looking for Moose. In Alaska with my mom, we went to a conservatory, where we found Moose fenced in; we went to Denali National Park where we saw Moose from afar, and only back sides. Driving back from Denali toward our cabin, we almost hit a moose and calf just after dusk.

It wasn't until we went to Grand Teton National Park, that we had any success finding and photographing Moose in the wild. Even then it did not look like it was going to happen. Grand Teton and adjoined Yellowstone National Park are perhaps the most famous and most visited national parks in the United States. Though we went in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and outdoor activity was one of the few things we could do outside of our home, apparently we weren't the only one who thought of this. The hotels in Jackson Hole were booked solid and the closest lodging we could get to Grand Teton National Park was roughly 1.5-2 hours away from the Park Entrance.

Being this far away from the park, and because Cory was as usual adamant that the best wildlife viewing time was early in the morning, we woke up at 3 a.m. to be at the park at 6:30-7 a.m. As usual this did not work out for us, we walked some trails and drove several hours before we saw anything. Driving down a windy side road I finally saw a female moose wading in a marshy area, and we became the people Cory and I usually grumble about in the car. Cory hit the breaks in the middle of the road, told me to get out and take the camera, and of course there was a park ranger to berate me for stopping our vehicle in a blind spot in the road and for disturbing the moose.

I got back in, we drove down to the nearest pull off and we got out and walked down the nearest trail which we thought would take us to where the moose was. It did not. It took us roughly 200 yards south of the windy road and the moose. After about 45 minutes, and several forays into the dense brush and marsh, with no result, we conceded defeat and went back to the car.

We then went to the nearest cafe/convenience store in the park for food and refreshment. We talked to a couple of people who were admiring my camera, and they told us that at the area where we had just been, there is a moose and calf who frequent that area daily, as it offers shade and plenty of grazing opportunities throughout the day. So we decided, after a short drive to view bison and elk, we would try again.

At about 3 p.m. we went back to the pull off. Now there were several more cars there, and plenty of photographers. We thought we would now get lucky. However that was not the case. Cory decided he would walk down the trail again just to see what he could see. I stayed behind, and to the left of me at a great distance I saw a brown spot on an area of tall green grass. I pointed my camera, and took a photo, and would you believe it..... I captured an image of this young moose calf.

I tried to call Cory. No service. I tried to walk slowly and get closer for a better shot, but this angle was the best angle I would get. As I walked around several trees, the moose calf disappeared into the shadows and I lost it. It figures. I will admit I was a little disheartened at this point. Especially as other people and National Park Rangers began to leave this pull off, it surely meant that the moose had left the area. As we were about to get in our car and drive around a little more, I got into a conversation with another Photographer, who told me about another spot he had had success in finding moose. I called Cory over as he was walking back and Cory was able to understand the directions better than I did.

At this point it was dinner time, we went back to the cafe areas for more refreshments. We then went to the area described by our acquaintance..... and nothing. Disappointed, we took a drive toward the bison again, and decided we would return back to the hotel. As we turned to go toward the hotel, it is now 7 p.m. or so in July, Cory decided we would drive back passed the area described. This time there were at least 14 cars parked off the side of the road looking at something across a stream. We parked to investigate. Sure enough, across the stream in tall grass and bushes, a big bull moose was grazing. Finally!

In the receding daylight we walked around getting different angles on the moose to get better shots. As the moose was across a stream, on the opposite bank, getting a better angle was admittedly difficult. I did not have the proper gear to wade waste deep with camera equipment to get the perfect shot, but these images here and at the beginning of this post are alright. Especially for my first and only shots of a wild bull moose. I was pretty excited. This ended up being a 20 hour day, with all the driving and whatever, but at least I got something out of it. And again, Cory and his early, early, early is always better, was wrong. This was at the end of the day, why do I keep listening to him?

#Moose #Bullwinkle #Wildlife #Photography #GrandTeton #NationalParks #Nature #Wyoming