Bull

This Blog Entry builds on the prior seven entries.

Just about everyone who visits Denali National Park want to see Grizzle bears. We also wanted to see Grizzle bears and saw almost a dozen - single and clusters of two or three. But the most impressive animal we saw was a bull moose.

Sue saw him first on our bus trip out of the park a few miles east of Wonder Lake. At first she though the two whitish patches about 50 yards off the Park Road inn low bushes was two Dall sheep unusually close to the road. She yelled, “Stop, Dall sheep.” Once the bus stopped, it became clear that those two whitish patches were the palmate parts of the antlers on a bull moose. There he was, laying in what looked to be a wet area; at a distance, his fur covered body blending in very well with the vegetation.

The 12 former Kantishna guests on the bus grabbed their cameras and rushed to the right side of the bus. The moose totally cooperated, continuing his lounging pose while looking directly at the bus with his body extend parallel with the road and bus. After a few minutes, the bull moose re-positioned his body, without getting up on his legs, so it was hidden behind his head and shoulders.

After a few more minutes the bus driver had to pull away in order to keep on schedule for arrival at the park visitor center, bus station and train station 80-some miles away. The bull moose continued to remained in place as the bus pulled away. His behavior was even more surprising given it was mating season when bulls are very active.

According to Wikipedia, moose are related to deer. As with deer, they typically inhabit boreal forests in cooler climates, such as those found in Denali National Park below the tree line (below 3,000 ft elevation). In North America moose are found in Alaska, the upper Great Lake states, Canada and New England. The bad news is that moose populations are in significant decline, especially in the more southern parts of their range. Their habitat is shrinking due to development, deer encroaching on moose habitat as they are forced to move by development, deer have also passed on diseases that until now have been clear of moose populations, and climate change is bringing warmer weather that can stress moose and their habitat.