First Wild Moose

On a hike outside of Nederland, Colorado, I was on the lookout for elk or moose… the trail was going downhill and then turning to the left and back uphill with an area further down the hill that was somewhat open and looked like good wildlife habitat, so I was looking that way. When I turned to look back at the trail, there were two rather large black shapes blocking the trail about 50 feet or so ahead of me… I stopped in my tracks and quickly got my camera out…

My guess is that these two are siblings because though they did do a bit of jousting or sparring, which younger bulls engage in to practice and gain experience and set an early hierarchy. This was definitely not an all-out fight as those are much more violent and serious. I’m not sure if these two are siblings or not, but I did return to the spot and watched as a third larger male came by and definitely asserted his position in the hierarchy, but I’ll share those photos some other time. For now, just enjoy these photos of my first wild moose encounter