A Moose named Malcom

My in-laws recently sold their cabin.  We have many wonderful family memories from the cabin including, of course, wildlife.  The canyon that held the cabin was full of Shiras Moose.  One of North America’s great ungulates, Shiras Moose are the smallest of all Moose species.  As you will see in the photo, there is nothing small about these creatures

This giant bull was nicknamed, Malcom.  We enjoyed watching this old boy most of the summer and into the fall.

This old boy often hung out in the front of the cabin, as demonstrated by this great photo.

My wife is watching Malcom from the front porch.  What a beautiful photo of a moose in velvet.

Forgive the fuzzy photo.  But this cow and calf could often be seen in the same area as Malcom.  We like to think this calf was sired by ol’ Malcom.

Moose born on the lawn

This one had to be a shocker.  This is what the email says about the photos:

In my 33 years in Minnesota, I have never seen a newborn baby
moose. This one was not even a half mile from our house. The mother
picked a small, quiet neighborhood, and had her baby in a front yard
just off of US 53, at 5:30 am.

Joe and I were out bike riding when we came upon the pair. The lady across the street from this house told us she saw it being born. We saw them at 5:30 PM. So the little one was 12 hours old. What an awesome place we live in to see such a sight.

Shiras Moose Generations

This morning as my family was getting ready for work and school, my 12 year-old called the family to the kitchen window.  Across the ravine, 3 shiras moose were hanging out on the hillside.  I grabbed my camera, ran across the ravine and got a few photos.  Enjoy!

After watching the animals for about 10-15 minutes, this is my best guess.  One is an old female.  The second is last year’s calf and is a male.  You can just see his horn buds in couple of the close-ups.  The third is also a male and probably her calf from two years ago.   Check out the frost on the female’s back-pretty cool.

Calf on its way to its Mother

Calf greeted by Mother

Older brother makes his way to the others (above).  Younger brother sticks his tounge out at older brother (below).

Here are few interesting facts about Shiras Moose in Utah.

(1) Shiras moose are the smallest of the moose species.  Populations exist in Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Washington and Oregon.

(2) Experts believe that in the modern era, Shiras Moose are not indigenous to Utah.  In 1957, the first Shiras moose count found 57 total animals.

(2) The population high for Shiras moose has been reached in the last 10 years, with a record number of 4,000 Shiras moose in the state of Utah.  This number appears to represent more moose than can be supported in many areas of Northern Utah.  Harvest quotas have been increased to maintain the current and more sustainable level of 3200 shiras moose.

Interesting Excerpt from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources:

Moose are well established in the northern half of Utah with the majority of the moose existing on 9 management units (Table 4). The current statewide population in Utah is estimated at 3200 animals. The general trend of the moose herd has been upward since the late 1950′s, with an average annual growth rate of 1.12 from 1957 to 1991. From 1992-1996, moose populations declined likely due to above average mortality during winter 1992–1993 and moose populations exceeding carrying capacity on some management units. During the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, moose population again grew and reached a record population size of nearly 4000 moose in 2005. Since 2005, the moose population has been intentionally reduced due to habitat degradation concerns.

How to Load a Moose

..at 60 Miles per hour.

Russian World Record Moose-Kamchtka Pennisula

This is one exceptional moose.  Just look at the Paddles on this bad boy.  Estimated to be a new world record.  To see more photos follow the link http://www.jerrysbaitandtackle.com/Trophies/Moose/WorldRecord.htm

 To read more about this moose harvested by hunter Jay Link, see http://www.blackbearheaven.com/world-record-moose/world-record-moose.htm

I particularly liked this quote, “This was one of the toughest hunts I have been on through my travels around the world. I refer to the hunt as a ‘tough man’s contest,’ rather then a hunt. It was a great experience. My brother Troy will be returning next year. As to the score of the moose, it should end up somewhere between 550 and 600 points SCI. It has huge mass and extremely wide paddles, with 20 points on one side and 18 points on the other.”