My (current) Favorite Bull Moose
When I can find Shoshone, none of the other bulls matter! He’s big, mature, and beautiful!
First You Have to Find Him!
Legendary Yankee catcher, Yogi Berra, is credited with hundreds of quotes…. Some people call them Yogi Berraisms. Here are just a few:
- “If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.”
- “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
- “The future ain’t what it used to be.”
When it comes to my favorite GTNP moose, Shoshone, Yogi’s sayings come to mind. I can create one he might have said: “If he ain’t where you are looking, look somewhere else.”
Over the span of around 14 years of photographing Grand Teton National Park’s moose, I’ve witnessed bulls gathering in small groups, both before the rut and after the rut. I’ve overheard tour guides telling their clients that moose live a solitary lifestyle, but across the board, that is not my observation.
While still in velvet and biding their time, I’ve often seen groups of four, five, and six bulls together. After the rut, I’ve seen as many as 28 bulls clustered in an area of the sage flats no bigger than a football field. That count didn’t include the cows and anterless bulls mixed in with them!
When not courting a cow during the September rut, Shoshone seems to prefer the isolation. For a photographer, Shoshone creates a conundrum. Should I bushwhack across a couple of miles of river bottom looking for him, or go to areas where there might be four or five moose in a more reliable area?
The risks and rewards of searching have to be balanced against each other. IF I find him, I will likely have him to myself for hours. As a result, my shots will likely be unique. Conversely, you might also imagine how it feels to “waste” a morning looking for him, only to find out later that three or four of the other bulls were putting on a great show somewhere else.
My Favorites
Shoshone is my “current” favorite Moose. I’ve had other favorites, including Gaston, Washakie, Elvis, and Custer. Unfortunately, their time at the top of the hierarchy pyramid is short. They either grow too old to compete, are killed by vehicle, or meet their end by a pack of wolves or even a hunter’s bullet. (More on Washakie and Gaston later)
Any follower at Best of the Tetons probably already knows that moose are my favorite wildlife subject. There are several reasons, of course. First, they can be found relatively close to my home. They save gas! Second, unlike the bears, there are a lot of them and are generally visible all year. Lastly, they “do stuff”. They cross rivers, fight, spar, and generally interact with each other.
Heck…they are even interesting when they are bedded down!
Our Shiras Moose are smaller versions of the Alaskan Moose—inhabiting areas of the Northern Rockies. They are “in scale” with other wildlife in the area. Growing up in a National Park, they are not hunted and effectively become accustomed to sharing their environment with the hoards of tourists visiting the Park each year.
“What is the lifespan of a moose?” I’ve looked over numerous sites for the answer. Depending on the site, the average response is around 15 years, though I saw a couple suggesting as long as 25 years. I doubt that! Some also suggest the average lifespan in the wild is only 8 years. Likewise, I doubt that number. Based on my years of following them, I’d stay with 15 years in the wild.
Velvet Time
Most moose lose their antlers sometime in mid to late December, while a few lose them in January. By Spring, you’ll start seeing light bulb sized new growth on the shaggy monsters. In late July and early August, I begin to see enough velvet covered antler growth to begin to speculate “who” they are. By late August, the mystery is over. Each year, they grow their antlers back in almost the exact pattern as the previous year. They’ll often add an extra a point or two as they reach their prime.
Besides the antler pattern, some moose have cuts or splits in their ears, or noticeable scars on their shoulders or muzzle. A few of them, like Shoshone have “lazy” ears. When not needed, the lazy ear rests back on their neck. (See the previous photo) Shoshone can still bring both ears perk when he hears a threat.
Despite their gangly appearance, Moose are quite nimble, even in thick cover. While still in velvet, they are very careful not to cut their soft velvet supplying the calcium needed to grow their antlers.
Prior to stripping their velvet, bulls have little interest in the cows. That’s not always the case for the cows. The down ears indicate “approach with caution”. Cows often find one of the big bulls and hang close, but other than their company, bulls seem to prefer their pre-rut private time.
Stripping Time
Last year, I was lucky to witness and photograph Shoshone stripping his velvet. This year, I missed the big event my maybe an hour. When I found him, he had only a small patch of velvet clinging to one paddle.
Moose paddles remain red for a few days as they continue to scrape them against any small tree or appropriate branch they can find. Later, they thrash the trees to attract the cows or alert another male of their presence.
The Rut
Once their antlers are stripped and polished, moose enter the rut in earnest. “Dependable” bulls seem to disappear for a week or two. I’ve equated it with a high school kid getting a new set of chrome wheels for his Camaro and then cruising Main Street to show them off. (Okay, I know I am showing my age. Watch American Grafitti if you are not sure what I am talking about)
If you haven’t been following me on Instagram, you might consider it! A friend talked me into posting a video once in a while that shows a bit about how I get these photos. This link is just one example.
Shoshone spent most of his velvet time along the Gros Ventre River, but afterwards I heard of him being seen along the Moose-Wilson Road and near Moose Junction. I saw him briefly at Blacktail Ponds overlook one evening, then heard numerous reports of him being at Schwabacher Landing. Later, he was back at the Gros Ventre River.
During the rut, large bulls isolate a cow and stay with her until she comes “into season”. They move from cow to cow as the season progresses. They can find a cow miles away, even with the wind blowing the wrong direction! In most cases, the secret to finding a bull during the rut is to go to where the cows hang out.
In my years of observing and photographing moose, I’ve only seen one serious fight. This year, I received reports of Shoshone and Laramie squaring off. I was told Laramie won the battle. (I was doing a photo tour that day)
Late Season Rut
Late October brings two changes. First, the primary summer food source, willow leaves, along the river bottoms thin out or fall off. They move to the sagebrush zones to feed on bitter brush mixed in with the sagebrush. Second, the moose reassemble in even larger numbers than before. Bulls sniff the cow’s urine for a chance of a late season breeding opportunity, but otherwise, become much less aggressive towards each other. Sparring between bulls is almost a given.
Shoshone and Firecracker are often seen paired up for gentle sparring.
Instead of moving back to the trees for the daytime shade, moose will often plop down in the middle of the sagebrush during the cooler days of late fall or early winter.
Water
Besides a good food source, moose also need a water source. They typically go to water at least once a day. Depending on whether some of the old irrigation ditches are open or not, moose in the sagebrush will eventually go to a stream or river. If a cow crosses the river with a bull nearby, you can almost bank on him following her. Otherwise, they move to the edge of the water for a quick drink, then return to the willows or sagebrush zones.
A Little Back Story
While this post is about Shoshone, you might enjoy a little localized history. Two bulls come immediately to mind…
Washakie
One of my earlier “favorite” bull moose was Washakie.
I started photographing Washakie in 2006 and continued to do so until the fall of 2016. His distinctive brow tines set him apart from all others. He hasn’t been seen since 2016.
Gaston
Back in 2006, I photographed and named “Gaston”—the largest bull in the area. At the time, my kids were watching Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast”. The Beast’s name was Gaston, so it seemed fitting. Gaston was the top bull back then, mating with the cows along the river. The odds are very good that I photographed Shoshone, Bannock, Laramie, and Slim Jim when they were babies. If you compare photos of Shoshone and Washakie against this 13 year old photo of Gaston, I can at least speculate that some of today’s top bulls are offspring of Gaston. Compare Gaston above with Shoshone below!
Shoshone: 2019
Shooting Information
All of the images on this page were taken in 2019. Most of them were taken with a Nikon D5. It’s my “go to” body for early morning and late evening wildlife photography. Many were taken with a Tamron 150-600mm G2 lens. Not long ago, I added a Sigma 60-600mm lens and used it with both the Nikon D5 an also my Nikon D850. River crossings are also a good time for the D5, knowing can handle a couple hundred captures before hitting the buffer. The D850 hits the buffer at around 14 photos (I’d have to refer to the manuals for exact numbers). The bulk of the moose images were taken using a tripod.
I didn’t keep track of the numbers, but I am sure I took 15,000 photos of Shoshone so far this year. I cull the number considerably, often by 90%, but that still leaves me with 1,500 keepers! I was only able to include part of them, and I know I will get a lot more between now and when he sheds his antlers in December.
Even though I mentioned that “all” images on this page are from 2019, I’ll sneak in one more from late October of last year. It’s a preview of what I hope to see in November and December.
More Moose Images:
Here’s a list of additional Feature Posts on Best of the Tetons with moose, and even a link to my artistic images as Teton Images.
I have numerous openings available in November and December!
The tours help me pay bills and allow me to keep updating this site. Please refer me when you can…MJ
I offer year round photo tours in Grand Teton National Park. Seasons are changing! Book now! Click the image for additional information.
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In the Tetons, two bull moose seem to get all of the attention: Hoback and Shoshone. There are several other majestic bulls, but over the past couple of years, the dynamic duo are both stunningly large and relatively “dependable”. There are times, especially early and late in the season, when you might see them together! Over a period of three or four years of photographing them, I can suggest they enjoy each other’s company. That is, of course, except during the heat of the annual rut.
Grand Teton National Park spans roughly 310,000 acres, so it might be short sighted for me to say these two are “the biggest” bulls. Still, they are the biggest bulls I know of right now. Could there be a “monster” out there somewhere? Another bull, Fremont, is equally impressive, but he doesn’t make an appearance until after the rut. Cheyenne and Bondourant area two additional contenders. Continue reading "Hoback – Stellar Moose of the Tetons" 
