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| Cow moose in Jackson Hole Wyoming |
The Shiras moose also known as Wyoming
moose, is the smallest of North America's moose
however it is still quite large. The Shiras moose
are found in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho,
British Columbia, and in isolated areas of Utah, Colorado,
and Washington.
The Shiras Bull Moose has smaller antlers than the Canada moose. Its body color is a rusty-brown to black with pale-brownish saddle and its legs are gray to white. The Shiras cow moose are slightly smaller than the male and does not have antlers. The bulls can grow to seven feet tall at the shoulder and can reach10 feet in length. Mature Shira's moose weigh 600 to 1400 pounds. The cow moose weigh between 500 and 1200 pounds. Bull Moose have antlers that can span five feet and weigh up to 50 pounds. It has smaller antlers than the Canada moose and the antlers are shed between November and January.
Breeding occurs from mid-September through mid-October. Cow moose attract males with both calls and the scent of estrous. Bulls as do all ungulates engage in fights with other bulls to win the right to breed the cow moose. Bull moose behavior during mating season includes scraping their antlers on trees, creating wallows to roll in, not eating causing large weight loss and they become more aggressive than usual and may charge at people and cars.
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| Cow and Calf moose crossing the Snake River under the Grand Tetons. |
Cows start breeding at one and a half years old. Gestation
is approximately 230 days. Most calves are born near the end of May.
Cows usually give birth
to one offspring but if the range is healthy two calves aren't uncommon.
Calves have reddish-brown coats and weigh 24 to 35 pounds at birth. A yearling
calf will stay with its mother until new calves are born. Calves weigh 300
to 400 pounds by fall.
Moose habitat varies with the season. In spring and
summer they can be found in marshy areas, meadows as well as higher
elevations. During winter moose prefer forest but can often be found in
valley bottoms
eating willow bushes. Before the fall rut bulls tend to remain in one
area for long periods of time.
Moose are browsers and feed on leaves twigs, bark, and buds of trees and shrubs. In the summer moose feed heavily on aquatic plants and can often be found with their head under water eating something off the bottom of a pond. Moose will eat about 50 pounds of food a day. In the winter the best place to look for them is in the bogs that are rich in the willow bushes they thrive on in winter.
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| Big Bull Moose, Absoraka Mountains, Dubois Wyoming |
It is said in Alaska that the most dangerous animal in
Alaska is the moose. It is not that moose are more fierce or aggressive
than bears, it is because
more people are injured and killed by moose because many people think that
moose are giant cartoon characters and consequently don't give them the room they need to feel comfortable. Most animals have a "fight or flight distance" the shorter an animals fight or flight distance is the more likely they will fight instead of flee. Moose, bear and bison all have short fight or flight distances. The lesson being When observing or photographing moose don't
mistake their docile inspection of you as tameness because they are just
trying to figure out if they want to trot into the woods or to kill you.
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| Young bull moose high in the Grand Teton Range outside of Jackson Hole Wyoming. |
Hunting is most productive early and late in the day when the bull moose are most active as they snooze during the day. In much of their range, Shiras moose can be hunted on public land without a guide. When Hunting for moose look both on the forested lowlands, lower mountain elevations and canyon bottoms. They can often be found in or near water, grazing on aquatic plants or willows. When you find a promising area, head out in the mornings and evenings to glass likely moose spots, such as willow stands lakeshores, mountain meadows, and other forest openings. During the day, moose climb to vantagepoints to rest in the shade. During the fall hunting season, keep on the lookout for rubbed trees and pellet-like moose droppings called moose nuggets. Bull Moose begin rubbing in early September, both rubbed trees and moose nuggets are good telltales of the nearby presence of bull moose.
Moose often live in areas with good public hunting and vehicular access try to locate a bull off the beaten path. Chances are good that other hunters have spotted any moose you scout right near the road also.
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| Bull Moose, Salt River Range, Afton Wyoming |
Moose have good senses of smell and hearing. To avoid detection by moose, pay attention to wind direction hunt or stalk with the wind in your face, regularly monitor the wind direction
Tracking moose is a popular tactic, light, soft snow is ideal both for seeing
the tracks and moving quietly through the woods. Wherever moose are found
in relatively open terrain, spot-and-stalk hunting is a popular and effective.
Some
say the most exciting and way to hunt moose is to call them in, bull
moose are particularly active and vulnerable during
the rut, all they have is one thing on their mind and it isn't safety.
A cow-in-heat call or an antler rattle can draw out a bull. Antler
scraping sounds on trees and shrubs can be used in early September.
In many areas bulls can also be located or called in by imitating the
grunt made by male moose during the rut. Also, aggressive bulls can
be brought into gun or bow range by raking trees and brush with an
object that sounds like antlers on brush.
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| Big bull moose foraging in the South Fork of the Snake River east of Idaho Falls |
Another hunting option is by floating in a boat or canoe.
This way you can silently put the sneak on them while they are
eating or drinking. Hunting from the water during the rut has long been
an
effective way for many hunters to hunt moose on lakes or rivers.
When floating a river, the best areas to look for moose include oxbows,
off-stream ponds, large grassy flats, islands and any places where
the river widens and forms calmer waters. Look for evidence of
moose using the area; if fresh sign is present, you've discovered a suitable
place to pull ashore and start calling. This is best accomplished
by fishing the are extensively ahead of time; multitasking is an invaluable
skill.
Still-hunting can pay off as long as your scouting or
glassing has given you a good idea that you aren't going to be spending
time in the woods by yourself.
For many hunters, the best and easiest way to bag a moose is to book a guided trip through an outfitter.
Good weapons for hunting moose include rifles of 300 caliber of better, black powder firearms, and archery equipment. Black powder and archery often give you and advantage of earlier seasons before the general hunt.
 
 
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Walking with a loaded rifle in an unfamiliar forest bristling with the signs of your prey is thrilling. It embarrasses me to write that, but it is true. I am not by nature much of a noticer, yet here, now, my attention to everything around me, and deafness to everything else, is complete. Nothing in my experience has prepared me for the quality of this attention. I notice how the day's first breezes comb the needles in the pines, producing a sotto voce whistle and an undulation in the pattern of light and shadow tattooing the tree trunks and the ground. I notice the specific density of the air. But this is not a passive or aesthetic attention; it is a hungry attention, reaching out into its surroundings like fingers, or nerves. My eyes venture deep into thickets my body could never penetrate, picking their way among the tangled branches, sliding over rocks and around stumps to bring back the slenderest hint of movement. In the places too deeply shadowed to admit my eyes, my ears roam at will, returning with the report of a branch cracking at the bottom of a ravine, or the snuffling of a. . .wait: what was that? Just a bird. Everything is amplified. Even my skin is alert, so that when the shadow launched by the sudden ascent of a turkey vulture passes overhead I swear I can feel the temperature momentarily fall. I am the alert man.---------------------------> 
Sheep Creek Outfitters
