Moosed again!

Let's see those Photos and videos!!
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bower
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Moosed again!

#1

Post: # 31239Unread post bower
Wed Sep 23, 2020 9:22 pm

This morning, Rosebud and Romeo turned up with Teddy. Well I had to call the calf something! It was pouring rain from TS Teddy so... Unfortunately it wasn't the greatest photoshoot. But here they are. Same moose couple that were here last October for a romantic dinner date.
Teddy with mom Rosebud, who is about to moose my peas after nibbling the rosebush and chowing the evening primroses. (at that point the photos ended with me banging on the window until they scarpered).
rosebud-and-teddy-peas-823.JPG
On the other side, Romeo was lurking politely and keeping a watch, I guess. I usually see females and foals together in the fall, without the big fellas, so this family grouping is a new one on me.
teddy-and-romeo-sep2020-751.JPG
I did not get a good closeup but this shot is enough for me to believe this is indeed the same Romeo. He doesn't have the big rack though. I wonder if he is still growing those antlers for the year? It was late October when I took his pic last year. These antlers are way smaller.
romeo-closeup-sep232020-773.JPG
Teddy was checking out some stuff to eat.
teddy-sep23-2020-753.JPG
Here's Teddy sniffing my outdoor tomato plants! Didn't take a bite though.
teddy-sniff-tomatoes-764.JPG
Last is a blurry shot of the trio on their way to exit garden left. Not much of a photoshoot, but it's a story... ;)
romeorosebudteddy-sep23-2020-815.JPG
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Whwoz
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Re: Moosed again!

#2

Post: # 31240Unread post Whwoz
Wed Sep 23, 2020 10:18 pm

Nice photos [mention]Bower[/mention], especially considering it was raining. Not the best place to see them though

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Labradors
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Re: Moosed again!

#3

Post: # 31253Unread post Labradors
Thu Sep 24, 2020 7:40 am

Great pics. How kind of you to feed the mooses :)

Linda

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brownrexx
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Re: Moosed again!

#4

Post: # 31255Unread post brownrexx
Thu Sep 24, 2020 8:20 am

Fun to see. I have never even SEEN a moose. They are really big. It seems funny to imagine them in the garden although one time I was talking to a man whose parents were doctors with Doctors Without Borders. In Africa his mom needed an electric fence to keep elephants out of her garden! I mostly only have to deal with bunnies.

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MissS
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Re: Moosed again!

#5

Post: # 31261Unread post MissS
Thu Sep 24, 2020 1:10 pm

Fun to see but nice to see leave asap.
~ Patti ~

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GoDawgs
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Re: Moosed again!

#6

Post: # 31273Unread post GoDawgs
Thu Sep 24, 2020 4:25 pm

Wow, not only a pair of them but now the offspring learning how kind you are and how nicely you grow stuff for them. :D Any chance that later one of them could feed you? Somehow I think not. :lol:

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bower
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Re: Moosed again!

#7

Post: # 31276Unread post bower
Thu Sep 24, 2020 6:31 pm

These are but a few of many moose that visit my garden. Both of the adults are small in stature by average standards. I think Rosebud is younger and is still growing, she's a bit bigger this year. Romeo looks like he lost a bit of weight. When you think of the severe winter we had and very deep snow, it had to be hard on these animals! So it's nice to see them looking well enough, and staying together. ;)
[mention]brownrexx[/mention] I've read about elephant fences made from a single piece of rope mounted at the right height. The recipe for the treated rope involved iirc a lot of pepper, tobacco, and spent oil. I toyed with the idea of trying something similar but gave up on it.
[mention]GoDawgs[/mention] they do manure the place on their way through, so there is that to be thankful for. :roll:
It seems like the most feasible approach is some kind of peacable coexistence plan. Hunting is not allowed so close to houses (and I'm not a hunter) so the moose seem to know that they are pretty safe (except for poachers). If we were in dire straits, I have no doubt the game in the area would be fair game. I would find it hard though, to have anyone coming to kill any of my favorites. Moose seem to have a lot more personality than bunnies or grouse, so I can't help being a little attached to the interesting ones.
Actually I'd like to open up an area nearby, plant their favorite things there, and make a trail of temptations that leads them past the garden instead of into it. In my mind I must confess I think of this project as "The Great Moose Bypass". :twisted: Ambitious dreams.....
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Clkeiper
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Re: Moosed again!

#8

Post: # 31294Unread post Clkeiper
Fri Sep 25, 2020 7:31 am

I would have an electric fence all day every day. 365.

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brownrexx
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Re: Moosed again!

#9

Post: # 31295Unread post brownrexx
Fri Sep 25, 2020 7:46 am

I would enjoy seeing moose but I am not so sure I would like them in my garden.

I like your idea of planting them a garden for themselves [mention]Bower[/mention]

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bower
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Re: Moosed again!

#10

Post: # 31310Unread post bower
Fri Sep 25, 2020 2:18 pm

I find it interesting how the animals use specific herbs and plants in my garden. The female moose come by in fall with their little calf (which are born in the spring) and without fail they chow down all the evening primroses. Sometimes they eat down the black currant bushes too. Both of those plants are medicinal for women in the same way, and evidently the missus mooses know exactly what they want after calf is born.
What surprised me is that, by making this garden in the woods, I created a habitat resource for the wild animals, which they needed.
It would be wrong IMO to electric fence or do something to try to drive them off their needs.
As regards my food crops, the only thing I've really had a worry about with the moose is peas, especially tall ones which look like a big bite at the right height. They are notoriously fond of cabbage, but I don't grow any big crop of brassicas, and they haven't bothered what I did have. They have chowed a few old plants in the fall when I removed row cover from around it - and tbh they are only moosing the peas late in the season as well. They don't eat grass or grain, I've read they can't digest it. And no animal has any interest in the garlic, the main issue with moose is trampling, which seems to be manageable by putting up rails that they can see (blind as bats, they are) which guides them to walk around it. Moose have long legs and can walk over obstacles that would stop you or I, but the 'path of least resistance' works as well for them as anyone. You are not going to walk into an obstacle if there's a clear path just to the side of it.
Moose are basically eaters of shrubs and deciduous trees. It is a big setback for tree crops like apples or hazels (not to mention other planted trees like sugar maples, oaks etc I thought would be shedding a pile of leaves here by now). But even if you kept moose out, the rabbits would be just as bad. They rind the stems in late winter and also girdle them, killing it back. I have no sympathy for snowshoe hares, but I also learned how futile it is to do battle with them and set up an enemy relationship. It is better to feed them plenty stuff they like, so there is so much primo to eat they are not tempted to defeat the defenses around your personal veggies. In winter though, there's no way to protect trees from hares. Moose are chowing the trees in the growing season when there are big bites of foliage. So between the two it's a lose-lose.
The fact is, these moose are in a poor habitat for them. They need edges with deciduous trees, which you find in burnt areas but there are none around here. Moose are not native, they are introduced, but that makes no difference really. Problem is that there aren't any predators to keep them in check except for humans and maybe a few coyotes that are moving in. And the habitat isn't that great. Too much conifers, while they need more shrubs and such. Sadly they destroy the same habitat they needed because they are too many for what little they can get. I would be happy to propagate and plant more deciduous things for them to enjoy away from the garden area I would like to protect or would try to protect.
I think I'd better live to be very old, if I'm ever going to solve the moose problem. :lol:
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worth1
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Re: Moosed again!

#11

Post: # 31313Unread post worth1
Fri Sep 25, 2020 2:35 pm

You are never ever going to get rid of the dreaded moose.
You know that and I I know that.
It's just like the darn deer where I live.
And once lived.
The deer depended on us because the ever so intelligent forest service killed off all the hardwood trees and let the big lumber companies plant fast growth pine garbage.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

You can't argue with a closed mind.
You might as well be arguing with a cat.

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bower
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Re: Moosed again!

#12

Post: # 31315Unread post bower
Fri Sep 25, 2020 2:50 pm

They say that moose is in the deer family. IDK how much they have in common, in terms of feeding and so on.
Did you know that moose will stomp you when they're angry instead of biting you, because they don't have strong teeth? I was surprised to learn this. They actually have 'prehensile lips' which they use to grab foliage and chow it up. :lol:
This was enough to explain how they manage to whiffle up some leaves and whatnot from the rose bushes and even the thorny blackberry plants! :shock: Talk about displaying your lippy prowess. 8-)
It is always easy to see who's been eating in the garden, between moose and rabbits the remains are entirely different. Little moose also will strip the leaves off a shoot while a big one will take stem and all, leaving a frayed and chewed off end.
Compare the hare that leaves a clean diagonal cut, and often leaves the branches as well, lying on the ground. Hares bite for the sake of using their teeth. I have hated to see what they destroyed and did not even eat!
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Re: Moosed again!

#13

Post: # 31316Unread post pondgardener
Fri Sep 25, 2020 3:02 pm

[mention]Bower[/mention] Saw this on the news this morning...

https://www.9news.com/article/news/loca ... b43156edf9
It's not what you gather, but what you scatter, that tells what kind of life you have lived.

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bower
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Re: Moosed again!

#14

Post: # 31318Unread post bower
Fri Sep 25, 2020 3:17 pm

Yikes. I have no time for mean moose. Seriously, if I had to 'manage' the moose problem here, I would definitely eat the mean ones, protect the sweet cooperative types. I'm not kidding! Mean moose are very very scary. (and probably delicious ;) )
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bower
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Re: Moosed again!

#15

Post: # 31954Unread post bower
Tue Oct 06, 2020 5:03 pm

More moose yesterday. Now this is a moose I find a little bit scary, she is very protective of her young and I definitely backed off in a hurry when she confronted me last year. She was here then with a little buck, but this year Venus has twins!!!
I actually have pictures of a calf from years earlier which I believe is Venus. She has the same prominent bony traces on her forehead and a bit of a blaze on the foreface which is distinctive.
venus-2020-865.JPG
She has quite the job this year, herding two little ones into cover! Fact is, she's not really scary. She's just a good mom! :D
twincamo861.JPG
venustwins-862.JPG
She allowed them to pose for a family portrait but then herded them back to the woods. Not taking any chances. The two little twin moose were very synchronized in their movements, I was impressed. :) They don't appear to be identical twins. I have nicknamed them Gamma and Delta on the 2020-only trend of naming moose after hurricanes that are active when sighted. Delta looks a lot like her mother, with similar face markings. :)
venusfamilyportrait-868.JPG
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Whwoz
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Re: Moosed again!

#16

Post: # 31958Unread post Whwoz
Tue Oct 06, 2020 5:26 pm

Some beauties there [mention]Bower[/mention]. Roughly how tall at the shoulder would they stand

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bower
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Re: Moosed again!

#17

Post: # 31961Unread post bower
Tue Oct 06, 2020 6:30 pm

[mention]Whwoz[/mention] the mother moose aka Venus is a very large moose. Alarmingly tall, which probably means about average for a moose. I would swag about a meter 75. Maybe I should measure that twig she was next to - moose always loom large as they get nearer. Romeo by comparison is quite short for a moose.

Here are a couple of pics of Venus last year, when she was up close to the house. And the last pic is from 2015, the little calf which I believe is the very same moose, with that wreathlike mark on her brows. So she would be about full grown I believe, at 4 and 5 years old.
Venus822.JPG
moose-notmona.JPG
2015-337b2.JPG
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brownrexx
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Re: Moosed again!

#18

Post: # 31964Unread post brownrexx
Tue Oct 06, 2020 7:07 pm

They look BIG!!!

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Whwoz
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Re: Moosed again!

#19

Post: # 31988Unread post Whwoz
Wed Oct 07, 2020 2:38 am

[mention]Bower[/mention] No wonder that they look tall. At that height they are nearly as tall as I am. Certainly understand why you respect them.

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Amateurinawe
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Re: Moosed again!

#20

Post: # 32011Unread post Amateurinawe
Wed Oct 07, 2020 2:04 pm

just amazing photos. We have deer in uk and occasionally get the odd one or two wanderer near us but a moose loose near the hoose, seems great fun...as long as they dont munch me toms....
The behaviour of light means you observe me as i was then, and not as I am now.
I cannot change history, so I do hope i gave you a good impression of myself

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