Moose cow near a beaver pond – Nikon D300, f7.1, 1/1000, ISO 640, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
Yesterday I headed up Skyline Drive at the entrance to Bountiful Canyon to see if I could find any migrating raptors riding the thermals of the Wasatch Mountain Range and while that wasn’t a “bountiful” activity finding a Moose and her calf feeding near a beaver pond was. The cow Moose came down the hill first and at that point I couldn’t see that a calf was close behind her.
Young Moose – Oh, oh, she saw me – Nikon D300, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 640, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
This Moose calf was born in May or June and it has grown quite a bit since then. It has also gotten a longer neck, when the calves are first born their necks appear very short, almost neckless in appearance, you can see one here. This calf paid far more attention to my presence than the cow did.
Moose calf with its eye on me – Nikon D300, f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
The Moose calf was wandering and feeding on different vegetation and when I saw this pose I just had to take a picture, it isn’t often I get to photograph a Moose’s rear end, I am far more proficient at getting images of bird rear ends!
Running Moose calf – Nikon D300, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
The Moose calf seemed to be nervous at times by something that was to the north of it and it would run towards where the cow was feeding but would stop near some tall trees.
Moose calf running again! – Nikon D300, f7.1, 1/800, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
And at times the Moose calf would turn and run the opposite direction. Maybe it was just stretching its legs, “feeling its oats”, or it had the zoomies but I do know one thing for certain and that is I was delighted and amused with both of the Moose yesterday.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Moose photos plus facts and information about this species.
Love these moose Mia, must have been so much fun to see them and what great backgrounds you got to boot!
The calf looks very spunky! These animals are beautiful and I’m sure it was a delight to observe and photograph them:)
What a wonderful opportunity, Mia! Thanks for sharing it 🙂
Oh, so cute!
Beautiful shiny coats. Good eye contact.
Thanks Maria!
The over the shoulder look great! All of the images are but I really like that one. No moose in AR but we do have elk.
Thank you Jo, I love that image too.
Oh. An animal I have never seen (and probably will never see) in the wild, in an enviroment which is also very alien to me. Thank you so very much.
And I love the no-neck calf too. An incredible change…
Thanks EC, I hope you will be able to see a Moose one day, they are awesome. I don’t recall seeing any habitat in Australia that resembles the beaver pond area these were photographed in so I understand how it would look alien to you.
These are so wonderful!
Thank you Taylor!
Great photos Mia.. The calf looks so friendly , and again makes me smile , especially to see that face in the ‘looking back’ pose..and great narrative that gives meaning to the shots.
Glad the moose calf made you smile Stu!
Great shots! Nice to see how sleek, shiny and healthy both mama and baby look…two very healthy looking animals. I’m assuming you were in the truck…it could be pretty hairy too close to a baby with the mama around. I love the eye rolling and backward glance. Plenty of moose here in Maine, too.
Patty, we were inside the truck, I don’t like to disturb my subjects and getting out of the truck probably would have bothered them but they are used to vehicles traveling on the road and usually just ignore vehicles. They are very healthy looking.
Very nice, Mia! The calf is really cute. I went and looked at the other baby moose you linked to. I can’t believe how tiny it looked alongside its Mom. Thanks for sharing these. We see an occasional moose in our area too. A bit of a novelty for here, but becoming more frequent in recent years.
Montanagirl, the calves are small when they are born, especially when you compare them to the cows. Thanks for your comment.
Very nice Mia! The Moose is on my bucket list of animals to photograph.
Steve, I hope you get your moose soon!
Oh yes, your Moose are beautiful, lovely stance and the prancing, superb.
Thanks Bob, Moose are lovely creatures.
Great looks at an animal I have not yet seen. The calf was putting on a nice show for you. How fun!
Thank you Julie.