What a day I had yesterday (7 December 2014) with friends Cathy and Terry, in an absolute winter wonderland! We set off about 7:45 a.m. (still dark) and drove westwards to the Kananaskis area of our majestic mountains. Early in the drive, the sunrise turned the still distant mountains pink (photo posted this morning). This is always such an amazing sight to see.
Once we had reached Kananaskis, we drove the area of Highway 40 that is still open (the rest of this highway is closed during the winter months) and also the Smith-Dorrien road. There had been a recent snowfall and the trees were still covered in snow, which turned everywhere into a winter wonderland. There was no wind and the temperatures hovered a few degrees around 0C. Sunshine, a few clouds, and fun company made it such a great day!
My friends had been hoping for a long time to be able to show me a winter Moose and yesterday they did well, finding the beautiful female seen in this photo and at another location, a male with antlers that looked rather like two little twigs sticking out of the side of his head. The size of both these wild animals was huge! The closest we saw them both was when they approached the car. You can stop the car some distance away from them, but if they are busy licking off the salt and minerals from any car in sight, they sometimes might eventually come close. All this female was interested in was doing this very thing : ) She would occasionally stop, straighten up and look and listen - usually this would be because she had heard or seen people snow-shoeing or cross-country skiing on a nearby trail through the forest. The rest of the time, she licked and licked and licked some more - the slurping sound could be heard from quite some distance :) At one point, she bent both front knees to kneel, so that she could reach the lower part of a vehicle. Lol, she did a fine job of cleaning headlights till they shone. Impressive and rather amusing at the same time. Free carwash, anyone??
We saw this female first, then the youngish male, and then we saw the female a second time, later. After feeding on dead leaves and tiny twigs from under the deep snow, she then lay down in the snow among some trees - the first time I had ever seen a Moose lying down. Such a peaceful scene - no one else was around either.
I always feel so privileged when I witness any kind of wildlife, especially so when you get the chance to watch a while and learn the behaviour of the animal or bird you are lucky enough to see. My friends were so delighted to be able to let me experience this yesterday, though I always tell them that just being in such spectacular scenery and being able to photograph the mountains is more than enough for me. Yesterday, they did really, really well! Be warned that I took a lot of photos, so I hope you won't get tired of seeing Moose and snow-covered mountains! Guess I'll have to throw in the occasional old Weasel or Pika photo to break the monotony for you, ha.
Thanks so much, Cathy and Terry, for such a great day - including the delicious chili that you brought along. Hope you are enjoying going through your own photos and video today : ) Most of the time, this female was in the shade, which made taking photos a bit of a challenge. What a difference in the colour of her coat when she occasionally moved into the sun.
"On average, an adult moose stands 1.4–2.1 m (4.6–6.9 ft) high at the shoulder, which is more than a foot higher than the next largest deer on average, the Elk. Males (or "bulls") normally weigh from 380 to 700 kg (840 to 1,540 lb) and females (or "cows") typically weigh 200 to 490 kg (440 to 1,080 lb), depending on racial or clinal as well as individual age or nutritional variations. The head-and-body length is 2.4–3.2 m (7.9–10.5 ft), with the vestigial tail adding only a further 5–12 cm (2.0–4.7 in)." From Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose
And now I have GOT to get cracking on all my overseas Christmas cards and letters!!! Looks like they are already going to arrive late : ( Sigh.
Tags: Alberta Canada W of Calgary Kananaskis K-Country Smith-Dorrien nature animal mammal wild wild animal wildlife Moose Alces alces deer family forest trees snow-covered autumn fall like winter Family: Cervidae Subfamily: Capreolinae Genus: Alces female very large
© All Rights Reserved
Saw this female and her son at the Calgary Zoo Ranch, just outside the city. I have not yet been able to get a close photo of a Moose in the wild, only distant shots. They are huge animals and very strange looking.
Tags: Alberta Canada nature wildlife animal Moose Calgary Zoo Ranch Animal Planet
© All Rights Reserved
Jellied Moose Nose recipe:
Ingredients
Amount Ingredient Preparation
1 each moose upper jawbone
1 each onion sliced
1 each garlic clove
1 tablespoon mixed pickling spice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup vinegar
Directions
Cut the upper jaw bone of the moose just below the eyes.
Place in a large kettle of scalding water and boil for 45 minutes. Remove and chill in cold water. Pull out all the hairs - these will have been loosened by the boiling and should come out easily (like plucking a duck). Wash thoroughly until no hairs remain.
Place the nose in a kettle and cover with fresh water. Add onion, garlic, spices and vinegar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the meat is tender. Let cool overnight in the liquid. When cool, take the meat out of the broth, and remove and discard the bones and the cartilage. You will have two kinds of meat, white meat from the bulb of the nose, and thin strips of dark meat from along the bones and jowls.
Slice the meat thinly and alternate layers of white and dark meat in a loaf pan. Reheat the broth to boiling, then pour the broth over the meat in the loaf pan. Let cool until jelly has set. Slice and serve cold.
Recipe is from RecipeLand.com. Think I'd rather see the animal alive and well, like this one at the Calgary Zoo, thank you very much! I have seen Moose in the wild but only have very distant photos.
Tags: Calgary Alberta Canada Calgary Zoo nature wildlife animal Moose NaturesFinest
© All Rights Reserved
After watching the activities of the Northern Hawk Owls yesterday afternoon, northwest of the city, we then came across this impressive female Moose who was across a field and on the edge of a wooded area. Distant = cropped!
"Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a "twig-like" configuration..... The animal bearing the scientific name Alces alces is known in Europe as elk and in North America as moose.... Moose are mostly diurnal. They are generally solitary with the strongest bonds between mother and calf." From Wikipedia.
"Using money from the sale of hunting licences, the Alberta Conservation Association and Alberta Sustainable Resource Development are working to enhance browsing opportunities for Moose, Elk and deer by creating small clearings in old willow stands and mature Trembling Aspen forests.... The Moose is the largest member of the deer family in the world. In Alberta, Moose can grow up to 2 m tall and can weigh more than 500 kg despite their modest diet of small plants and the twigs and bark of trees." From the Royal Alberta Museum website.
Tags: Alberta Canada nature animal mammal wild animal Moose female Alces alces woods woodland forest trees Panasonic DMC-FZ18 FZ18 Lumix P10000177 FZ28 annkelliott AnimalPlanet
© All Rights Reserved
Unfortunately, seen at the Zoo a few days ago, not out in the wild. Ones that I do see in the wild are always far, far away. I managed to keep fences and sheds out of the background, so that it would look as natural as possible.
Tags: Calgary Alberta Canada Calgary Zoo nature animal wildlife Moose side view Zoo captive mammal image photograph digital color image horizontal tree no people one animal outdoors day native Panasonic DMC-FZ28 FZ28 Lumix P1020298 FZ28 annkelliott AnimalPlanet SuperShot male ImpressedBeauty
© All Rights Reserved