Surrounded by Moose!

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karenandbill
Posts: 209
Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2020 10:55 am

Surrounded by Moose!

Post by karenandbill »

We have been back here in Idaho since mid February and were greeted with a lot of snow and a lot more has fallen since. We have had moose stroll through our yard before, but this year has been something else! We had a mother with a single yearling come through shortly after we arrived back. Then we had a bull (with its antlers shed) come through.

ImageDSCI0134 by William Reinke, on Flickr

Two days later he was back and decided to hang out all day.

ImageDSCI0131 by William Reinke, on Flickr

He took a stroll to the edge of our side yard at one point and was eating on some twigs when one of the neighborhood dogs was coming down the road. The black lab saw the moose and started barking furiously, coming toward the moose. The moose would have none of it. He turned and faced the dog then started heading directly for it. The dog turned tail and ran and I haven't seen it since :lol:

This is a poor quality photo as it was taken through the screen, but you can see the moose's posture as it moved toward the dog.
ImageDSCI0140 by William Reinke, on Flickr

The magpies like to get on the moose's back end and peck at their butt. At first I thought this would be a symbiotic relationship like the bison have with the blackbirds. But I could tell this guy did not like it, but he couldn't reach back far enough with his snout to knock it off. At one point the magpie flew to the ground beside the moose and the moose took both front legs and tried to stomp on it. But the magpie managed to escape.

This past week Karen started to head out to shovel some snow (I had recent hip replacement, so I'm not just being lazy :D ). I mentioned that there was a moose in the back yard. We watched for a few minutes and could see it was a yearling bull.

ImageDSCI0181 by William Reinke, on Flickr

She then decided to head out out and at least shovel the front deck when she saw a yearling female up beside the deck.

ImageDSCI0177 by William Reinke, on Flickr

I then looked out the side window and there was big Mama right beside our SUV.

ImageDSCI0198 by William Reinke, on Flickr

We were surrounded by this moose family! Needless to say Karen decided to wait until they moved on.

Since that day they have decided they like it here. For over a week now, they usually make an appearance hanging around for some or most of the day. They have gotten used to us peering at them through the glass and barely react now.

ImageDSCI0191 by William Reinke, on Flickr

The mother is very large and we are guessing she is quite old. Our yard here is not big and when she is out back she almost fills up the entire picture window.

ImageDSCI0190 by William Reinke, on Flickr

They have impacted our lives somewhat as we don't want to make them move when they are resting and we also don't want to upset Mama with her yearlings close by. As I am writing this, the three are laying down by the steps to the deck. This is our only way out with all the snow, so we aren't going anywhere for a while. Karen recently reminded me of a statement I made just after we bought this place, "I wonder if we could plant some special bushes that would attract moose to our yard." :roll:



RikWriter
Posts: 488
Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2017 8:36 pm

Re: Surrounded by Moose!

Post by RikWriter »

Oh man, that is so awesome! Wish we had moose in our yard.



karenandbill
Posts: 209
Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2020 10:55 am

Re: Surrounded by Moose!

Post by karenandbill »

RikWriter wrote:
Mon Mar 13, 2023 7:21 pm
Oh man, that is so awesome! Wish we had moose in our yard.
Yeah, it's been fun. My physical therapist came to the house and was thrilled to see them. But I am envious of that golden that was perched in your yard!

--Bill



Dorothy
Posts: 201
Joined: Sat Jul 29, 2017 7:45 pm

Re: Surrounded by Moose!

Post by Dorothy »

Wow! What a neat thing. And wow, what a bunch of snow! Enjoy!



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