Tag Archives: Moose

Click This – March 2011

Backcountry Skiing trip, Kuskulana River, Mt. Blackburn, winter, Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.
Backcountry Skiing trip, Kuskulana River, Mt. Blackburn, winter, Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Hey Folks

The next of the monthly series for 2011. The biggest news, of course, in photography this month was the Oscars. I, of course,  missed them. Again. Ahh well – there goes pop culture, I spose.

The next biggest piece of news is that I’ve been spending quite a bit of time out of town, tooling around in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, enjoying the mountains. A few days here, a  few days there; beats the heck out of navigating the treacherous icy roads of Anchorage. And much more interesting than reading the news. 🙂

Below is what caught my eye this month. I’ve been in the mtns a bit, so might have missed some good stuff. Feel free to add your own stuff of note.

In no particular order:

Continue reading

Photos of 2009

Dawn rising over Mount Blackburn, elevation - 16,390 feet (4,996 M), winter, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska
Dawn rising over Mount Blackburn, elevation – 16,390 feet (4,996 M), winter, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska. Click the image to see a larger version and to browse the rest of the gallery.
winter, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska
Winter, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska
Continue reading

Bull Moose, Long Lake

Bull Moose (Alces alces) shaking water from antlers, in a lake, springtime, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Here’s a quick one while I’m hiking. I saw this bull moose a few times this spring, feeding on the aquatic plants that grow on the lake bed this time of year. Quite a rack for early June. He’ll be quite a sought after moose come this fall when the subsistence hunters look around Wrangell-St. Elias National Park for their winter meat. As much as I like for my friends to eat well, I hope nobody gets this guy.

Cheers

Carl

Young Bull Moose, Wrangell-St. Elias

A young bull moose wades through deep powdery snow, winter, boreal forest, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Here’s a young bull moose, a yearling, trundling through the snow. Moose have disproportionately longer legs than other members of the deer family, and it really helps them get through deep snow.

This is a helpful advantage as they seek out food in the winter, and also in evading their main predator, the wolf pack.

But the real secret they employ is a kind of double-jointed hip or knee that allows them to lift their legs higher than most ungulates, and high-step their way to safety.  When I first saw this fellow, he stepped into a deeper drift that was right up to his belly, yet he managed to clamber his way through, regather, and then set about finding himself some browse for dinner.

The word ‘moose’ comes from a North American Indian Tribe, the Abenaki, and it translates roughly as ‘he trims or cuts off’, a reference to how the Moose browses twigs and bark from trees.

Cheers

Carl