Clash of Titans (moose style)

NorthernFocus

As I mentioned in a previous post, I wias fortunate enough to witness (and photograph) a couple of bull moose fighting early this past Saturday morning. The lighting was so low and shutter speed correspondingly slow that I got mostly blur from the actual fight. But I got some decent images of all the participants

So here is "the rest of the story"...

It was barely daylight thirty when I came across a cow and her calf laying is a field of grass. Within a couple of minutes, a majestic bull came out of the woods and began to court the lady.

Here he is. I'll call him the Monarch.



He could be pretty intimidating if/when you got a bit too close to him or his lady.



But it was a beautiful fall day and he was mostly content to enjoy it. Thank goodness because check out the hardware.



The local teens were mouthy but kept their distance from this bad boy.



But then, a legitamate challenger appeared and there was trouble. The monarch is on the left and yes, that is loose fir where the other guy raked an antler down his side. You can see the challenger broke the tip off of one of it's tines on the first violent clash.



After a short but intense struggle, there was a new sheriff in town. Here he is trying to catch his breath after the battle.



But before he could recover his strength, another challenger appeared. The sheriff decided he wasn't up to another fight and withdrew from the field. So this guy ended up winning the lady without breaking a sweat. Small wonder though, that is one impressive goatee.

JSPhotography

Fantastic. Great shots, great story.

jwear

nice work I do not trust these guys I ran into one in Alaska and then it wanted to run into me the locals told me that the camera was not the thing to shoot a moose with

NorthernFocus

Thanks for the comments.

jwear wrote: »

...I do not trust these guys I ran into one in Alaska and then it wanted to run into me...

That's a good attitude to have. These apparently docile, lethargic creatures can turn amazingly hostile and move like lightning in a matter of seconds. Like most things, with practice you can learn to read their body language. Trusting any animal, wild or domestic, that weighs half a ton is just not smart.

jwear

NorthernFocus wrote: »

Thanks for the comments.


That's a good attitude to have. These apparently docile, lethargic creatures can turn amazingly hostile and move like lightning in a matter of seconds. Like most things, with practice you can learn to read their body language. Trusting any animal, wild or domestic, that weighs half a ton is just not smart.

that is just what they told me , you never know. I am not afraid of a lot of things but that one let me know never relax.I did not get one shot the camera even took a crap :cry

80weeks

Great series!

David-Stallard

Don't see many of these great beasts in the center of London, terrific shots and the story ties them all together really well. Thanks

.DAVID.

Ric Grupe

IMO...one of the best posts this board has seen in some time...very well done, Dan.

The first and last shots are wonderful and the ones between not far behind.

Thanks for taking the time to tell the story.

NorthernFocus

Thanks for all the comments, folks.

Gnome wrote: »

Don't see many of these great beasts in the center of London...

There are a lot of "urbanized" moose living in Anchorage. Some of the newer, more exclusive neighborhoods don't allow fenced yards because it inhibits free range feeding by the moose. IOW they can't get in to raid your garden and gnaw the bark off of your trees :cry During the rut they do return to the woods but come back to town when the snow starts getting deep in the mountains.

Ric Grupe wrote: »

...Thanks for taking the time to tell the story.

One cool thing about posting in these forums is that it is an audience of people with a reasonable understanding of what it takes to capture these moments in time. Thanks for the kind comment and glad you enjoyed the photos.

Lindiwe

Wonderful pictures, wonderful story! Thank you so much for sharing both.
clap

DsrtVW

Wow you were in Moose Heaven. What a nice gift you got from them to put on the show and you were in the right place at the right time.
clap

Tdcompton

Wow.... Great images of a really special moment.

NorthernFocus

Thanks for the comments, folks. Like the old saying goes, if you can't be good, it's good to be lucky. Being in the right place at the right time was pure luck. These guys were not where I was headed that AM. But they were along the way

korandoke

nice serie

Greetings,
Korandoke

christina4615

Wonderful shots! I wouldn't want to get between them

NomadRip

Great series! Thanks!

Hntr

Great shots, cool story!!! Thanks for sharing.

Harryb

Marvelous set of captures.

Stash

Having grown up in the great white north, I know that challenges of finding one moose. To capture what you have is truly amazing.

dlplumer

bow

NorthernFocus

Thanks for the comments. Glad ya'll enjoyed the images. Here's another one of the fight captured seven seconds earlier. In this one you can see how much they are straining against one another and how they are trying to keep their eyes on each other. You can see the smaller moose on the right has better position with his back legs. Right after these pictures he pushed the other guy into the bushes to the left of the frame and the fight ended with the bigger guy running for his life.

JRSabater

Great worksclap

jackiejay

some big boys they are beautiful. I remember we were in our dads truck going somewhere when I was a kid (when we were stationed in Alaska)and we had to stop because one crossed the road he walked over to our truck and licked the hood it was so funny and awsome and scary at the same time.Then he went on about his merry way.Wish I had a camera then lol

photodad1

Great photos.