A Morning with Moose ~ - Teton Photography Club

Wyoming’s Shiras Moose on Display in Grand Teton National Park.

It was cloudy when I drove north this morning, but there were hints of possible breaks in the southwest clouds. I found Washakie at about the same time the sky temporarily cleared, but he was still soaked from the overnight rains. His normal light ivory antlers were darkened and rich in color.

Washakie seemed to be sniffing the air and was alert to something in the east.

As is turned out, these two youngsters were following a cow and calf moose across the river. It is difficult to say if they were crossing to get to the cow and calf or crossing to get away from approaching Washakie, seen in the willows above them.

The larger of the two came back to the river and crossed again.

The young bull cautiously crossed the river, as if worrying whether the big bull would come crashing towards him.

On the other side of the river, Washakie had returned to the cow and calf he had been following all morning. Cottonwoods and ground cover is now bright yellow and occasionally orange.

A mature cow and a two year old calf watched from the edges. Normally, cows hang with their young for a couple of years. Young bulls seem to split from it mother a little sooner than young cows. Washakie might have something to do with running this one off this year.

Bull moose will often paw at the ground to clear a place to bed down, but during the rut, they dig “scent pits”, which often attracts cows in the area. They roll in the scent pit for a while before the cows get their turn. The smell is quite pungent!

The young bull stayed just out of range, but Washakie kept an eye on him.

A few people call this one “Blackhawk”. He’s has a nice dark coat, plus remnant velvet he didn’t clean off at the right time.

Another nice bull was in the area today. It took some searching and hiking, but found him near the river. I’ve seen him for four or five years, usually staying in the same area, and showing up at about the same time. I have always called him Cody. He has a beautiful coat, long dewlap, and distinctive tines. He needs a few more years of growth, but he’s a beautiful bull right now!

Cody seemed to be on a scent trail of a cow. He stayed on the move, barking regularly.

Possibly a mile from where I first saw him, he crossed the river.

As tempting as it might be, none of us can cross the Gros Ventre River into the National Elk Refuge to stay with the moose. Once they cross, they disappear in to the willows and cottonwoods, and the “show is over”…at least for the day.

Yesterday afternoon, I took around 175 images and deleted 173 of them. One appeared on the September Daily Updates page and the other was merely a record shot. This morning, I took over 2000. I will probably trim that group down to 200, that should be 200 nice images! Light changed regularly, and the moose stayed fairly active until late in the morning. Chalk that up to the rut and cool fall temperatures! I took these images with a Nikon D5 and a Tamron 150-600mm lens, all with the aid of a tripod.

Additional Posts Featuring Washakie:

I’ve been photographing Washakie for 10 years now! He currently has a limp, but appears to be coming out of it.

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