Moose on Spruce!

[Rose H-H]

Just saw a moose go up the hill next to my cabin on Spruce!! Pretty thrilling!

[Nancy Farmer]

Just saw a moose go up the hill next to my cabin on Spruce!! Pretty thrilling!

It's like living in the TV Show "Northern Exposure"! 

[Rose H-H]

I know!!!  And we have Hollis (better than Holling!) and Jim lived in Wheeling, WV (like Chris in the Morning!).

[John Hardman]

Hey Rose ~  Just curious.  The Moose you saw, was it the Big Bull that Wendy posted about a few days ago?
Or the "girlfriend", he is looking for.  

~j

[Rose H-H]

It was a bull moose.  It didn't seem huge to me, but this is only the 3rd moose I've seen in person.  What do you think, Seth?  Was this a big bull?

[John Hardman]

Thanks Rose! 

Probably same guy.  Big Rack = Big Bull, in general.

[Wendystokes]

The same big moose walked by our house again this morning, on the driveway going east to west, around 8:30am. Probably goes to get water and then heads back up to the hills?

[Sal DeVincenzo]

This guy was cruising the waters with his girlfriend on Thursday at Saint Vrain.

   

[Steven B in PV]

Be aware that bull moose are in the rut now, looking for cows to breed.  Both the bulls and cows are more aggressive at this time, and cows with calves can be especially cranky most any time.  You might have seen recent news stories of our neighbor north of Ward who was attacked from behind by a cow moose and seriously injured.  This happened 10 days ago along the South St. Vrain trail a little ways in from the Beaver Reservoir road. 

Be aware and keep a respectful distance.  You really don't want to get trampled by an 800 to 1200 lb. moose.  Be prepared to run.  Put clusters of trees, boulders or other large objects between you and the beasts.  So many injuries by moose in CO occur when dogs are with their owners.  Moose see dogs as predators and will attack in defense.  While it's important to keep your dog on a leash so they don't harass and bring a moose back to you, if you find yourself in the dangerous situation of a moose charging, let go of the leash.  This can allow the dog to escape and hopefully the moose will no longer focus on the person with a dog.

We frequently have moose in the yard and have identified eight individual moose here this year.  Two recent bulls include Mickey, a yearling spike bull, and another probably 2 1/2 year old bull who was shedding the velvet from his antlers on Sept. 14.


   

   

[Nancy Farmer]

Great photos, Sal and Steven! When I first moved here 42 years ago, the moose were just beginning to get established along the Peak to Peak, and boy have they gotten comfy in that time. I'm not sure why there were no moose - they were repopulated starting with the wildlife refuge in Walden. CPW Moose Reintroduction fact sheet. Just googled it and found out that moose are not native to Colorado, although sightings of transient moose had been recorded before the 1978 program.

[Steven B in PV]

I first found moose tracks in our yard in fall of 2007.  Now they're regular visitors foraging on everything.

Here's a cow and bull calf I came upon today along Beaver Creek.  It looks like she's been eating 40+ lbs. of vegetation every day.

   

[oakchezzar@gmail.com]

awesome posts and pics y'all. thanks for the info!