To catch a glimpse of a moose in its natural habitat is to witness a fleeting moment of pure magic, a connection to the wild that stays with you forever.

~Douglas Chadwick

A couple of weeks ago we went on our annual truck camping road trip during our birthdays week (our birthdays are a week apart). Our first stop was Grand Teton National Park. Melissa shared some of the incredible fall colors of that area in our last post. One of my goals on this trip was to see a moose, hopefully a nice bull. I think the moose population in Yellowstone is increasing but this year we have had little luck seeing these magnificent creatures on our outings in the park. The Tetons are well-known for the larger numbers of moose so I was hopeful. On our first day we drove down the road toward the Gros Ventre campground, a road we had seen a nice bull moose on earlier this summer. And, in almost the same location as our earlier sighting, there was a bull moose. He was bedded down in thick vegetation along the river so not a great photo op, but at least we saw one. After driving around to various locations the next day, we decided to take a hike to a pond where Melissa and her sister had seen a moose a few weeks earlier. It was late afternoon and as we walked, an elderly couple (can I still say that?) approached from the direction of the pond. I asked if they had seen any moose. “No, but someone said a few have been seen up another trail and have been there all day”. I was bummed, but we continued on. A few minutes later we encountered three young men coming out. They immediately said there were 3 moose at the pond and cautioned us to be careful as one was a large bull. We laughed and wondered how two reports just minutes apart could be so different. As we approached the ponds, we saw a few folks gathered on the other side of the far one and then we saw them – two moose! A cow out in the water and a large bull on shore.

If you look closely, you will also see something else…another moose swimming in the pond. When I first saw it, there was splashing on the far shore and I wondered what the heck people were doing in the pond. Then the head of a young bull moose became apparent. He swam across the pond and got out on the shore in some thick vegetation beyond the large bull who was keeping an eye on us and the other people on the opposite shore.

We walked over to join the rest of the people and settled in to quietly watch the cow feed on submerged vegetation while the big bull looked on. This was the start of the rut for moose so this big fella was undoubtedly guarding her in order to mate. The young bull was either an offspring of the cow from the previous year or a young guy hoping to get lucky.

The first bull spotted the other one, stood up and walked stiff-legged toward the intruder, grunting every few steps.

I really thought we were about to witness an epic battle between two large bull moose. The first bull stopped twice and thrashed the bushes with his antlers, a sure sign he was ready for a challenge.

–The dominant bull thrashed some bushes to show the other bull who was boss

Meanwhile, the cow went back to feeding. Guess she has seen this bravado before.

The other bull soon disappeared back into the woods and the dominant bull returned the victor without ever having to battle. And the cow just kept feeding, seemingly oblivious to all the drama.

–We spent a long time quietly watching the cow moose feed on aquatic vegetation

We continued watching the moose for quite some time before deciding to hike back to the car. It was a privilege to witness this group of moose in their world. I must say, I was also happy that the gathered group were quiet and respectful of the animals and we all seemed to appreciate the wonder of the moment. On our way back, we came around a curve in the trail and encountered a young black bear only about 30 feet from us chowing down on berries. We paused, talked quietly to the bear who glanced our way and continued feeding. The bear turned away feeding as it went and we slipped down the trail realizing how special this hike had been. In a world of crazy headlines and sadness, it is healing to witness wildlife going about their lives.