Three new members of the ‘Munching Moose Tree and Hedge Maintenance Service’ arrived on our property in early October. Mavis Moose and her two calves, Morgan and Montana, worked primarily in the NE section of our woods. They also rested on (and fertilized) the grassy area that covers our septic field.
This calf is demonstrating extreme resting. Morgan (or maybe it was Montana) slumbered in the full side sleeping position for almost an hour. I’d never seen a moose stretch out like that before… for a while I was afraid it had died!
(More Moose Photos: Mike Jackson’s Resting Moose Collection of Photos.)
I know that wild life researchers avoid getting so close to animals that they affect eating habits and natural behavior. We have the opposite situation here – the moose don’t hesitate to get close to our ‘habitat’, thus affecting our behavior. In the photo above, they crossed our driveway, then bedded down about 30 ft (9 m) away from our front door.
The fourth new member of the ‘Munching Moose’ crew was Malcolm. Though Malcolm did do some munching, he was here for only one day. Apparently he achieved his objective with the female moose, then moved on to sow his wild oats in another ‘part of town’.
A rare portrait of Malcolm, Morgan and Montana (I cropped Mavis out of the photo because she was in the deep shade – but she was staying very close to her calves.)
A few days later, there was a grand Munching Moose Picnic in our west woods. Mothers Martha and Mavis spent a few hours munching and resting while the calves, Morley, Morgan and Montana frolicked about – dare I say Moose-capades!
I was watching all the activity from a location about 100 ft (30 m) away. Suddenly, one of the calves ran directly towards me. It abruptly stopped when it was about 30 ft (9 m) away from me (and the large grey thing with round rubber feet). Then, just as quickly, it ran away.
In another blink of an eye, the mother moose had arrived to check on her calf. She too came to a full stop in the same spot as the calf had been, then turned and casually walked away. This isn’t the first time we’ve observed that these moose are comfortable being near human structures but actively avoid close contact with people.
That’s not to say all moose populations are like that (or that these moose would react the same way every time). However, these moose do live in a semi-rural area that has far more people than there are moose – an area where the trade off for having food and safe places to bed down is frequent encounters with human beings. So far, so good.
Great observations Margy!
I really enjoyed hearing about the moosecapades around your home!
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They spend most of their time laying around chewing their cud. It is like watching paint dry… but when they get up and chow down, it is pure magic!
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We get the odd Bullwinkle come through here. It such a treat to see Moose on the prairie!
I’m not sure I’d be as comfortable as you are in such close proximity to them though, they are massive creatures!
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We stay alert, especially when the mother moose first arrive with new calves or when a male is around. Other than that, we just make sure we have a vehicle or a lot of trees between us and the moose, then go about our business.
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Yes, I’ll bet there are times when they are quite dangerous to be around!
I am really enjoying the posts about your Moose family!
Thanks so much for sharing them Margy!
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Wow. Incredible.
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Incredible is a good word. I’d say a ‘once in a lifetime’ event – except they keep coming back week after week!
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Lucky you!
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How do you get anything done? I’d be sitting in my window, watching for moose 24/7! Fabulous photos. You are certainly blessed (I wish I had some moose to trim a few shrubs around here that have gotten out of hand with all the wet weather we’ve had!!!! All I get are deer, who eat the plants I don’t want them to eat, and leave their droppings everywhere!)
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The moose now seem to have a schedule – which makes it a lot easier to keep track of their movements. On days that they choose to be on our property, they arrive in the morning, rest until noon, wander through the woods eating lunch, rest some more, get up and eat supper, then leave.
We have deer too, but we have a 6 foot chain link fence that protects all the things I don’t want eaten. Neither moose or deer have chosen to breach the fence!
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I love reading about your moose encounters outside your door. Our cottage is in moose country but we don’t very often interact with them.
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It seems like if you are growing what they like to eat or you have dark woods they can cool off in, they will come! It may help that we are surrounded by farmland – these moose don’t seem interested in the crops these farmers are growing. I have read, though, that some moose eat canola and grain crops – maybe our moose do too and I just haven’t seen them doing it!
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Fun story. Better photos. Thanks for the treat on an otherwise mundane day of reading blogs 👍
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‘Mundane’ – that would be a good name for a moose. ‘Mandate’ would too – appropriate for life during Covid.
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Moose-capades? You’re a regular moose-kateer.
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What would you call a moose that crosses the Red Sea?
Mooses.
What ancient land is known as the “Cradle of Moose Civilization”?
Moos-opotamia.
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🤣🤣😂😂🤣🤣
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Fabulous, thanks so much, I’m enjoying learning about these wonderful creatures.
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Glad I can share these animals with people around the world!
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Professional landscapers/gardeners that come dirt cheap. Thank goodness they also come camera-ready. 🙂
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Yes, cheap labour and photogenic!
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A win-win all the way around!
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Fun to read about your moosecapades!
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We just got some snow – wish the moose were here today – it would be fun to see what the calves think about the white stuff on the ground.
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I loved this post! Malcolm is a cad — and I’m not giving him a pass just because he’s a moose!!
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On the plus side, the female doesn’t have to feign a headache for 364 days of the year…
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It amazes me how you always know the names of the animals you come across Margy, without even having to ask them 😉
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It’s a gift. I’m only sorry that ‘Mandate’ Moose hasn’t put in an appearance yet – ’cause all us humans have been under mandates for what seems like a very long time.
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