Tony's Takes Photography

Wildlife, landscape and weather photography

Playing peek-a-boo with a 1,000 pound Moose bull

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A Moose bull peeks above the willows in Arapaho National Forest, Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)
A Moose bull peeks above the willows in Arapaho National Forest, Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

Certainly that isn’t really what was going on here but when it was happening, it seemed like it. This big guy was grazing on willows, regularly dipping his head down and completely out of sight. He would then pop his head back up, giving a look at me to see if I was still there watching him.

This was a very fun encounter, particularly since he was one of four bulls in the area at the time thus giving me a ton of photo ops.

Taken on August 1 in the Sulfur Ranger District of Arapaho National Forest.

Moose bulls head to head on a frosty high country morning

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Moose bulls put their heads together and spar in the early morning. (© Tony’s Takes)
Moose bulls put their heads together and spar in the early morning. (© Tony’s Takes)

The calendar still may have said summer but on this early September day at 10,500 feet high, you definitely had a feel for a change of the seasons. Temperatures were near freezing and frost had coated flora and fauna alike – including these two big guys.

With the frost coating their backs, the sun was rising and so too were the bulls’ temperatures. The rut was starting to kick in and the bulls felt nature’s calling to begin to establish a pecking order. Two chose to test each other’s mettle with some sparring, an event that was a ton of fun to watch.

The pushing and shoving was relatively mild but impressive nonetheless as you might imagine with two 1,000 pound creatures going at it.

Hide and seek with the biggest animal in the forest

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A moose bull keeps himself concealed in the dense forest of Colorado's high country. (© Tony’s Takes)
A moose bull keeps himself concealed in the dense forest of Colorado’s high country. (© Tony’s Takes)

For as big as these guys are, you would think they would be easy to spot. However, with as dense as the foliage is in Colorado’s high country, moose can sometimes seem to appear out of nowhere. Such was the case with this big guy last month.

I was studying the trees and willows soon after dawn trying to find the moose bulls that are usually in the area. This big guy had his head down and with the thick brush, was virtually invisible. Once he picked his head up though, he was pretty hard to miss with those massive antlers.

It definitely serves as a reminder to keep close watch when you are in remote locations as you never know what is right nearby.

Head on with one of the big boys for Moose Monday

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A bull Moose walks head on in Colorado's Indian Peaks Wilderness Area. (© Tony’s Takes)
A bull Moose walks head on in Colorado’s Indian Peaks Wilderness Area. (© Tony’s Takes)

Yeah, these guys can definitely be a bit intimidating. Don’t worry though, I definitely was keeping a respectful distance as this was shot with a 600mm lens and cropped to give this kind of a close look.

On this particular morning a few weeks ago, there was a good bit of sparring between the bulls as they geared up for the rut. This particular guy was probably about the second biggest in the area so he was large and had the potential to be in charge.

Moose bull grazing in the early morning

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A Moose bull walks among the foliage at Brainard Lake in Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)
A Moose bull walks among the foliage at Brainard Lake in Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

From a couple weeks ago, this big guy was one of four I was taking pictures of. They weren’t being particularly cooperative as they tended to stay covered pretty well. This one though did give me some nice shots and I think this one is my favorite. The soft light, the foliage framing him and the gentle look on his face make for a nice capture. Taken in Colorado’s Indian Peaks Wilderness Area.

This image would look awesome on your wall! Get it here!

Time to change the sign to Moose crossing

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Time to change the sign to Moose crossing. 😀

Another for Moose Monday since I have taken so danged many pics of these guys here lately.

This big guy was crossing the road yesterday and while those folks were there before him, they really should be backpedaling. Here’s a bit of a hint – If you are close enough to wildlife to get a good picture with your phone, you are TOO CLOSE!

A Moose bull can weigh 1,000+ pounds and run at 35 mph. How long do you think it would take for this Moose to close that distance between him and those people? Not very long and with rut season gearing up, these guys are in no mood to deal with tourists.

I know not everyone has access to the gear I do but even a decent quality point and shoot camera will give you a decent zoom lens allowing you to maintain a respectful distance from wildlife and, best of all, the quality will blow away that which you get with your phone. Food for thought!

A Moose bull crosses a road in the Colorado high country. (© Tony’s Takes)
A Moose bull crosses a road in the Colorado high country. (© Tony’s Takes)

Young bull Moose faces off with the old guard

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I spent this past weekend in Colorado’s Indian Peaks Wilderness area where the scenery is breathtaking and the wildlife impressive. Certainly, my biggest goal in going there is to photograph the Moose.

These creatures are absolutely massive and this time of year, the bulls are prepping for the annual rut and are more active than usual. Sparring almost always ensues as the big guys begin to establish a pecking order.

This past Saturday, one of the younger bulls decided to test the senior member of the bachelor herd. The fight wasn’t particularly intense as the old guy seemed to be humoring the younger one more than anything. Nevertheless, it was a ton of fun to watch as the two put their heads together and knock their massive antlers.

Check out more of my pics of these beasts here.

A young bull Moose challenges the senior member of the bachelor herd. Taken in the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area in Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)
A young bull Moose challenges the senior member of the bachelor herd. Taken in the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area in Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

Video: Big Moose versus little pine tree

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I opted not to spend my Labor Day laboring. Well, unless you count lugging my camera and tripod in Colorado’s high country. 😉 I had hoped to get pics of bunches of Moose but only got images of one but he was a good one.

This big bull really, really wanted the last of the velvet off of his antlers. He took his frustration out on a little, spindly pine tree, vigorously rubbing on it. This is just a quick shot of what was almost 10 minutes of the big guy beating up the tree. By the time he was done, there wasn’t much bark left on the little guy.

Moose bulls go head-to-head

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The rut is getting close and even a few weeks ago when this picture was taken, the Moose bulls were establishing a pecking order.

Here, two go head to head leading up to a bit of pushing and shoving. Unfortunately, this was before the sun hit the valley floor so my pics of the action came out blurry due to the necessity of a slow shutter speed. Sigh.

These two big guys were part of a bachelor group of four, but, they were only the middle two in terms of size. There was another with them that was clearly the senior and dominant one of them all. Taken in Arapaho National Forest, Colorado.

Two Moose bulls prepare for some sparring in the forest. (© Tony’s Takes)
Two Moose bulls prepare for some sparring in the forest. (© Tony’s Takes)

Stealth Moose

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I am running behind in posting pics of these massive creatures that I have taken recently so here’s a bonus one for Moose Monday. See my earlier post for a clearer shot. This guy thought he was being sneaky. Apparently the best tasting foliage was right next to the road where I was watching him and three other bulls. With the steep drop off from the road, I couldn’t get a clear shot of him as he eased his way up, grazing along the way. Kind of makes for a fun pic.

The antlers of a Moose bull peek above grasses on a hill in Arapaho National Forest. (© Tony’s Takes)
The antlers of a Moose bull peek above grasses on a hill in Arapaho National Forest. (© Tony’s Takes)