Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Mr. Cranky

Something pulled up from the deepest darkest recesses of archives; I took this shot several years ago in Algonquin Park in the fall while with friends. The male moose was off in the bush, the antlers at full size (they fall off each year, at some point in the winter). This was before rutting season, though, when they get really, really, really cranky. You don't want to be anywhere near a male that time of year.


42 comments:

  1. wow, nice encounter ! that is a beauty here we do not risk to find face to face :-)
    saluti from Italy

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have never seen a real moose: it must be an impressive animal!

    ReplyDelete
  3. You lucky so-and-so! Fabulous to see that. And it's good to finally get an explanation for male crankiness...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great shot, what a surprise to see that animal at close range.
    I'm glad we don't have them so big overhere.

    ReplyDelete
  5. What an action shot and memory of a lifetime.

    ReplyDelete
  6. That's a once-in-a-lifetime shot, I guess. Didn't know the antlers fell off....and I don't know anyone who's ever found any! :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I don't think that people realise how fast moose can move if you tick them off!
    Jane x

    ReplyDelete
  8. @Linda: they are big beasts!

    @Massimo: I've been privileged to get to see them from time to time.

    @VP: they really are.

    @Jen: thanks!

    @Peter: big, yes. Mean, only in November, really.

    @Mike: that time of year, it is lucky to see them. They're usually deep in the bush.

    @Jan: they certainly are critters well worthy of respect and keeping a certain distance.

    @Marianne: well, this was a zoom lens.

    @Greensboro: thank you!

    @Tanya: any time one sees a moose is a good thing.

    @Bibi: in April and May, along the roadways there, one has a fairly good chance of seeing them. My parents had a pair of antlers up on one of the outside walls of their house when they were living in the area. Finding a pair is a lucky thing- it doesn't take long for forest critters to start breaking those things down.

    @Jane and Chris: they can move really fast, and in November, they're best avoided.

    @Luis: I thought so!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Got lots over here in Maine in the Great North Woods.

    ReplyDelete
  10. that must have been a scary encounter!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Gosh he's a big fella.. those antlers could do a bit of damage :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ahh...nice capture. Years ago, I was on a camping trip when a moose just casually walked right into our campsite, sniffed around a little and then wandered off.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Big guy to be crashing through stuff. 'Outa my way" says he. MB

    ReplyDelete
  14. Never seen one in nature, fortunately...

    ReplyDelete
  15. Lucky you to have seen a moose with antlers! I have only seen the females!

    ReplyDelete
  16. @Birdman: Maine is a good area for them too.

    @Tex: not really. It's an animal you pay a lot of respect to, give it plenty of space, and let it know you're around, but I've never felt worried while being around them.

    @Grace: during rutting season they're fighting with other males for the rights to mate with a female, so those antlers come to good use.

    @Sharon: my parents have seen them passing through the yard outside the house where they lived for a number of years.

    @MB: yes, you want to give him a wide berth.

    @Karl: it's a real treat to see them.

    @EG: go on up to Algonquin in April or May. They'll be around the roadsides. Granted, the males don't have antlers that time of year, but they are bigger than the females, so it's easy to tell them apart.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I had a close encounter with a moose in Idaho once while walking in the woods. Kind of scary. When I was at Denali a ranger told me that more people are injured by moose than bears. Unlike me, you managed to get a picture of the big guy. Good job!

    ReplyDelete
  18. You are really lucky to have seen one in person! I've only ever seen them in zoos.

    ReplyDelete
  19. So their antlers fall off every year? How do they keep getting bigger? Or do they?

    ReplyDelete
  20. I remember seeing one running across a river when I was on the train from Vancouver to Banff. It was a magnificent sight!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Oh and they are huge! Incredible.

    ReplyDelete
  22. We saw so Moose in a field
    and they were even more beautiful and huge than I thought !

    cheers, parsnip

    ReplyDelete
  23. @Judy: they're magnificent animals.

    @Jose: thank you!

    @Halcyon: I think I was spoiled for a number of years with my family living west of the park. In April you could pretty much guarantee a sighting of moose if you went into the park.

    @Cheryl: Yes, and they grow back to full size each year.

    @RedPat: that would be!

    @Marleen: they're definitely big.

    @Parsnip: it's a pleasure to see them.

    ReplyDelete
  24. That's very cool! I'd like to see (& photograph) one...at a very great distance.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Very very brave for getting that close to a rutting mad moose!
    Awesome shot.

    ReplyDelete
  26. We don't have them here in Virginia, as far as I know.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Thank goodness we don't have much in the way of moose around here.

    ReplyDelete
  28. it's not only a male moose that can get crazy during mating season, William

    ReplyDelete
  29. Rather cool! We did this. Hung out in the motel nearby and went into the park at 5 a.m. (when we lived in Muskoka). They are amazing critters.

    ReplyDelete
  30. I would love to see a real moose like that. He does look a bit menacing though.

    ReplyDelete
  31. How wonderful! We're flat out seeing deer and we've never managed to photograph them.

    ReplyDelete
  32. @Kay: Algonquin certainly does offer that opportunity.

    @Debs: oh, it wasn't November, but he was probably thinking of the rutting season.

    @Linda: I wouldn't think so, but you get plenty of deer.

    @Oakland: it's a treat to see them here.

    @Beatrice: quite true!

    @Norma: he is!

    @Jennifer: that's a good way of seeing the park early.

    @Lois: well he didn't seem to mind us.

    @Blois: I've photographed deer, but they tend to be more skittish.

    @Shelly: they are awesome. I've never found them scary though.

    ReplyDelete