[LRflex] Re: moose story
- From: Douglas Herr <telyt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2007 19:22:57 -0700 (GMT-07:00)
David Young <telyt@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>>http://www.wildlightphoto.com/mammals/artiodactyls/moose.html
>>
>>my departure from this location is one of my better stories ;-)
>
>
>So... are you going to tell it? :-)
>
From the draft of my book:
The Alaskan moose, Alces alces gigas, is the largest of the moose subspecies,
reaching 6' at the withers; a cow moose defending her calf can kill a grizzly
bear with her front hooves. I hadn't intended to photograph moose on this
particular day, in fact I had been looking for the Three-toed Woodpecker when I
sat on a log by the lake to wait, watch and listen. Before long, four moose
emerged from the forest to graze in the lake: two yearlings to the far left,
and a cow moose with her calf to my right. The yearlings kept their distance,
but the cow and calf meandered closer as they grazed.
I made a few photos, then, realizing how close the huge animals had come, I
quietly packed my camera and mulled over the possibilities:
1) perhaps the moose didn't know I was there, and if I stand to walk away I
might startle her, causing her to charge. If I sit quietly she might reverse
course and wander away.
2) the moose knows I was there and doesn't mind. In this case I should be able
to stand and walk away without causing a commotion.
While pondering these exit strategies the moose presented me with a third
scenario: she looked at me, lowered her head, and stamped her feet. Little
balls of fire, impending thermonuclear explosions, were barely contained within
her eyes. The message was clear: "You're too close".
Tecnically it was the moose that was too close because it was she who moved
toward me, but I wasn't in a position to argue the point. It's surprising how
quickly one can run through a spruce forest with waterlogged hiking boots, 20
pounds of camera gear and a quart of bug repellant, particularly considering
that an hour earlier the forest was nearly impassible. All it takes is the
proper motivation.
During my flight through the forest there was considerable splashing and
thrashing from behind but I never turned to see if it was the yearlings or the
cow moose making that racket, nor whether the animal in question was running
toward me or away.
Doug Herr
Birdman of Sacramento
http://www.wildlightphoto.com
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