Friday, March 21, 2008

Moose Sighting



Fresh Snow. Commitment Free Weekend. Temps about 0C. A trip to Elk Island Park seemed in order. The dh agreed, and off we went. With the eastern end of the Anthony Henday open now, it is a very quick trip from here to the park - maybe 45 minutes.
We drove through the plains bison side of the park, spotting a few buffalo far off in the distance, and a lone coyote hunting. We decided to cross the road and go for a walk on the Wood Bison side. Got about ten steps along the path, and the dh says "It's a moose" in the calmest voice ever. There she was, about 30 feet away through some pretty thick aspen forest, just watching us. I got the shot of her, and tried to find a spot where there weren't as many trees between us. As I moved forward on the path I saw that she had a calf with her!

Amazing to see and share space with such an awesome animal. We spent about an hour in the woods, found many different footprints and several pieces of dung, but only came across another coyote in the distance.

A great way to spend an afternoon. The landscape is so bleak at this time of year, even with fresh snow cover, and especially under cloud covered skies. The next day was brilliantly sunny, but much, much colder.

1 comment:

Rhea said...

Oh, how neat to see the moose and her calf! We don't have those in Texas. :o)