Looking for Moose in All the Wrong Places

Since our first visit to the Tetons in the 80's, it has been one of the best places we've found to photograph moose... except for the past several years.  While camping at Sheffield Creek, we had a great conversation with the only other campers, a local rancher and his wife who often come to the area for horseback riding.  In the course of our conversation we told him that we were looking for moose to photograph.  To my dismay, the rancher said that the moose population was down drastically.  He blamed a growing number of predators, including bear, wolves, and mountain lion.

Of course, I was devastated at the news.  We broke camp and headed to Lake Jackson Lodge, our favorite place to download emails.  While there, I looked into the moose mystery and read several news articles highlighting the reasons for the moose decline.

It appears that moose have declined in the Grand Teton, Bridger/Teton, and Shoshone forests by 30 percent over the past decade.  While the rancher is correct that predators have made an impact in the moose decline, most reports that I read indicated that a variety of issues have made the moose more susceptible to predation.  Moose are cold weather animals.  A series of warmer winters and shorter springs have diminished the kinds of plants moose normally forage.  While some moose have migrated in search of food and colder temperatures, others have stayed and become malnourished to the point that mothers, for example, are having difficulty carrying their babies to term or supplying their new calves with proper nutrition.  To make matters worse, a deadly parasite called Elaeophora schneideri, is ravaging moose herds (see Where are the Moose?).  Unfortunately, none of the reports ended with hope that a sudden comeback of the moose population was on the horizon.

We left the Tetons within the hour, deciding that the Davis Mountains and my herd of wild horses would offer a better photo op.  We found a campground eight miles up a four-wheel drive road, looking for solitude.  Unfortunately, we didn't realize that this was the first weekend of hunting season and the area was a local favorite.  There must have been over a dozen horse trailers and even more trucks pulling ATVs in the area.  While it was still dark, we heard shots being fired far too close to our campsite.  We decided to break camp and leave early, shortly after dawn.

I told David that with hunting season now open that we probably wouldn't see a single member of the deer family for the remainder of the trip.  I was wrong.  Within minutes of my making that statement, we rounded a bend, and lo and behold, a mother moose and her calf were grazing near a pond about 50 yards from the roadside.  (When will I ever learn that God is in charge... not me?)

We stopped to take a few photos... unfortunately, all blurry because I had the camera set in the wrong position.  No matter... it was a privilege and a blessing to watch hope in the form of a moose and her calf drenched in rays of sunlight.

Thank you, Lord!  With hearts lifted, we set our sights on Utah.

"Surprise us with love at daybreak; then we'll skip and dance all the day long."  Psalm 90:14 (The Message)