Moose on the Loose

A summer of 2018 visit to the Crags Campground near Cameron Pass in northern Colorado brought an interesting surprise.

Alces shirasi

We had not been in the campground long before some other campers informed us that a cow moose and her young calf were visiting various campsites on a regular basis. We had more than one opportunity to watch and photograph this protective mother, in part because she had no reluctance whatsoever to graze for food in the various campsites. On one morning, we were up early to prepare for a climb that day and she wandered into our camp area and began grazing on some sweet raspberries that had grown up near a fire ring and our picnic table. We had an open type canopy set up over our table. The moose, with little hesitation decided to poke her head up under our canopy and see what was being served for breakfast. Fortunately, she was at the other end of the table from where we stood. As she eyed our food and gave clear indication she might take some, we gently attempted to dissuade her and encourage her to move away. The plan worked, but our camera was in our vehicle so we could not get any shots. Fortunately, the next day, she returned to the area and this time we had the camera ready. This photo was taken right in our campsite. A little perturbed by our moving around to photograph her, she expressed her displeasure and gave us a warning look not to get too close. After this shot, taken from just a few feet away, we cautiously backed off.