We had a visitor on our property. He has a broad, pendulous muzzle and is a hoofed mammal of the deer family, He is still very young! He was pulling the bark of the wild willow trees/bushes growing on our property. I decided to name him, Manchester.
Young Male Moose-Looking for more Willow branches to chew on
Picture by K. Fields
You can see the knobs on his head just above his eyes where his enormous palmate (shaped like an open palm or like a hand with the fingers extended) antlers will start growing soon. He must be around a year old. His mother is probably deeper in the trees. He is still young but dangerous, he is fun to watch but he will stomp you if you try to get close. His mother will try to kill you if she sees you anywhere around her baby, Mother moose are very protective of their babies, including their year old big babies.
Picture of the same moose through a screened window
Picture by K. Fields
This “little” guy must weigh around 400 1bs and stand a little over 5 feet, so he has some growing left to do... He is still a little thin from the long winter and has shed his baby fur coat, and now new thicker, darker, heavier fur will replace it.
I was curious on what the name moose means so I looked it up and according to the Online Etymology Dictionary. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/moose. The name “is derived, from an Algonquian language, probably Narragansett moos (cf. Abenaki mus, Penobscot muns), said by early sources to be from moosu "he strips off," in reference to the animals' stripping bark for food.” Which is exactly what they do, strip the bark off the willows for food.
Picture of Male Moose with clearer view of the Antler bumps above his eyes
Picture by K. Fields
As you can see by the picture it is still pretty brown around here, not much spring foliage yet. The moose survive on eating the green buds, grass, leaves, and bark off the trees. (Oh! And my garden when it is ready to harvest!) Hard to believe something that big can survive off those few things and grow even bigger, and stay strong and healthy…Hmmm, maybe I need to take a closer look at his diet; I could stand to lose a few pounds.
Moose caught sight of me taking his picture!
Young Male Moose-Looking for more Willow branches to chew on
Picture by K. Fields
You can see the knobs on his head just above his eyes where his enormous palmate (shaped like an open palm or like a hand with the fingers extended) antlers will start growing soon. He must be around a year old. His mother is probably deeper in the trees. He is still young but dangerous, he is fun to watch but he will stomp you if you try to get close. His mother will try to kill you if she sees you anywhere around her baby, Mother moose are very protective of their babies, including their year old big babies.
Picture of the same moose through a screened window
Picture by K. Fields
This “little” guy must weigh around 400 1bs and stand a little over 5 feet, so he has some growing left to do... He is still a little thin from the long winter and has shed his baby fur coat, and now new thicker, darker, heavier fur will replace it.
I was curious on what the name moose means so I looked it up and according to the Online Etymology Dictionary. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/moose. The name “is derived, from an Algonquian language, probably Narragansett moos (cf. Abenaki mus, Penobscot muns), said by early sources to be from moosu "he strips off," in reference to the animals' stripping bark for food.” Which is exactly what they do, strip the bark off the willows for food.
Picture of Male Moose with clearer view of the Antler bumps above his eyes
Picture by K. Fields
As you can see by the picture it is still pretty brown around here, not much spring foliage yet. The moose survive on eating the green buds, grass, leaves, and bark off the trees. (Oh! And my garden when it is ready to harvest!) Hard to believe something that big can survive off those few things and grow even bigger, and stay strong and healthy…Hmmm, maybe I need to take a closer look at his diet; I could stand to lose a few pounds.
Moose caught sight of me taking his picture!
Picture by K. Fields
CU
5 comments:
hi k. fields everytime i visit your site i feel envy.....whoa what a place to live. and i read that tumour in the tree also...it was informative.
I have previously lived on the prairies in the northern reaches of two provinces where we saw moose frequently. Where we live now there are none so seeing these pictures was a real treat.
I have always wanted to see a moose up close (and not in a zoo). Those pictures are great, thank you!
I visited your blog after enjoying your daily affirmation at "this time this space." Love these moose pictures and the interesting information. My mother and I saw them in Banff when we had a wonderful vacation together in the 90's, and I've had a soft-spot in my heart ever since. All the more, now, after reading that they live on willow bark. What gentle creatures.
Great pictures of the moose!
I am envious.
The one place I want to visit before I die is Alaska. To spend 2 weeks taking pictures of the wildlife, that's my dream.
I will definitely return to read more!
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