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

I went out into the park on Monday to refresh my brain and see what I could see. I eventually drove out to Round Prairie, the local moose hot spot and saw two bulls that had already dropped their antlers. Unfortunately, there was a large “moose jam” and so I just drove through. On my way back, the moose were apparently laying down in the willows and could not be seen. I pulled into the now empty pullout and soon met a wildlife photographer using a thermal imaging device which picks up heat signals in the environment. He let me take a look and I saw the shapes of two moose hidden from view in a willow stand. Pretty neat! The price tag on that unit was bout $2000 so i guess I won’t be buying one anytime soon:)

Continuing on toward Lamar Valley, I spotted three moose out along Soda Butte Creek – and no one else was there! I pulled into the closest gravel pullout and started watching the three bulls (one had dropped its antlers) as they fed on willows along the creek. Cars drove by me and I was surprised no one stopped. There were scattered bison near the trio of moose so I am guessing people just didn’t notice that three of those large dark shapes had really long legs! In what is an uncommon occurrence in Yellowstone, I had these moose to myself for over 20 minutes before some visitors finally saw them and stopped

Here’s a short clip of the moose browsing on willow branches. Videos are best viewed full screen.

–Moose browsing willow (filmed with a spotting scope and iPhone with adaptor)

I continued to watch these big guys as they fed and interacted. The one without antlers was larger and would often lay his ears back as the other two would half-heatedly spar with one another. Here is a slow motion clip of one such interaction. These next two clips were filmed with my Canon camera and telephoto.

–The two antlered bulls would occasionally spar. I couldn’t tell if the antler-less one was aggravated by this or wished he could join in.

They would also occasionally take off running a short distance and then stop and resume feeding. One bull lagged behind after one running bout and walked away from the willows towards the creek, crossing a large expanse of snow and ice.

I drove a short distance down to the next pullout which was closer and where there was already a group of visitors excitedly photographing this incredible scene. The moose slowly ambled to the water’s edge and then paused as if to admire his reflection (the rest of us sure did).

After taking two long drinks, he slowly made his way back to the willows (leaving many happy photographers on the other aide of the creek).

–This moose must know he is photo-worthy as he slowly struts back to the willows

The three moose made one last run and essentially disappeared into a thick stand of willow shrubs. I’m always grateful for these moments in the wild in this winter wonderland.