Late this afternoon, I spent about forty minutes watching (and photographing) a young male moose in shallows of Gregg Lake north of the road*.
Much of the time the light was not right; too much of the critter was in fairly deep shadow. However, every once in a while he turned into the sun as he grazed and I was able to make some nice photos.
My impression is that the moose population is on the rebound, at least a bit. We have been seeing moose more frequently this spring than we have in recent years.
When we moved back to NH full-time about a decade ago, the moose population was at an near all-time high and we saw moose or their signs regularly in the ‘neighborhood’. Since then the population has dropped dramatically due to two factors.
The first factor is winter ticks. As the climate has warmed the tick population exploded and the moose have become heavily infested with ticks. The mortality rate among yearling moose approached ninety percent at one point, mostly due to the ticks.
The second factor is a brain parasite that infects both deer and moose. This parasite is lethal to moose but not to deer. Thus in regions such as southern NH, where the ranges of moose and deer overlap, the moose population is affected.
* My chief wildlife spotter (i.e. Joan) had gone down to the Gregg Lake beach to monitor the progress on the new bathhouse and called to say she had spotted this moose. I quickly gathered up my gear and headed down to take advantage of this sighting. When I arrived at the lake (it is a mile down to the bridge), the moose was way over near the far shore. I saw in it the binoculars but it was really too far away for good photographs. I persisted but by the time I got the camera set up it had disappeared into the woods. I took a walk over to the beach and chatted with Joan and other folks there for a short while before heading back to the truck. In this interval, the moose had reappeared in the lake much closer to the road and at a perfect distance for ‘Big Bertha’ (my 600 mm lens).
I will never forget seeing a moose in the Grand Tetons. Absolutely magnificent. I hope your moose survives. Thanks for the picture.
Ah, persistence paying off! Great captures as well. Reminded me of the Moose Shoot I did as a retirement gift from family. We were able to get up close for several shots. Sad to hear of the dangers these large beautiful creatures face every day.