Moose just north of Upper Red

[polarsusd81]

So we went up to LOTW for a fishing trip this weekend and just north of Upper Red we saw a cow moose standing in a culvert on the side of the road. The photos aren't the greatest as we passed her and then I got out with the camera, so she was backlit. I wanted to keep a safe distance because she is a wild animal and don't want to take any chances. I am not sure if she was standing there trying to keep warm, as it was -26 at the moment, but she didn't seem to mind the observers.

Sorry about the larger than normal size, but 500x300 just didn't quite cut it.

Here is the first photo.

And here is the second.

[Steve Foss]

Cool, Tom. One of the few remaining moose in the NW Minnesota herd. Maybe the animal was hanging around the culvert because it was a little warmer in there.

[Dbl]

Good shots Tom. It really is a shame about the decimation of the Moose herd. I hope the current on going study finds some answers to why the population is in decline.

[Quackaddict9]

That's cool, I have seen a few moose up that way but not one moose in the past 3 years.

[JayinMN]

Any moose sighting is a good sighting and pictures are even better! I bet she was eating the salt there by looking at her snow covered nose. Or maybe to be on the safe side of things she was trying to go through the culvert instead of crossing the road..

[polarsusd81]

I guess I didn't know the moose population in that area was so low. Kind of a blessing to see this one then. Jay, that salt idea might be right, I could definitely see that as a possible reason as well as a little shelter from the cold in the culvert. There wasn't much wind, but at -26, it doesn't take much wind to really knock you out.

There were a couple guys just out of frame that had also stopped and got out with cell phone cameras that were getting way too close. I politely asked them to give the girl a little extra space and they did step back a bit. They were trying to get her attention, but she wouldn't take her eyes off of me. In a way, it kinda made me happy. I will post up the other pics here as soon as I load them up on Flickr.

[Yeti]

Cool. Moose are strange and powerful creatures. Good choice to keep your distance.

The Yeti may have been spotted near Sawbill snow shoeing. Yeti saw many moose tracks, along with wolf tracks...but alas no moose and no wolves...could be Yeti smell bad.

[polarsusd81]

Okay, here are a couple other ones.

Here is the photo with the two guys that got a little close.

Here are a couple of the fun photos from the weekend...

TroyMcLure (my buddy Rob) with a micro walter (this photo was intended to mimic a bass shot from opener this year)-

Rob's dad with his first walleye-

Me with a chunky 18.5-

Rob's dad was wore out after a day and a half of fishing-

We had a lot of fun and caught a lot of fish. The moose was only the start of a great weekend.

[explorer]

Cool photo's. I went to school in Thief River Falls in 91-92 and we used to see Moose around there quite often.

[Fish Toys]

It seems like the population has decreased. There are a few around here but not like it used to be. They do cover a big area. I think the decrease is some parasite that affects their brain. Very seldom to see a cow and a calf anymore around here.

[DeeDee]

Dumb question here, obviously we dont have them down here. If they are in decline why do they still allow people to hunt them?

[Steve Foss]

Good question, to which no one in the DNR has offered a very good answer. The season has recently been limited to bulls-only. It had been any moose of either sex.

[MN Shutterbug]

Lucky you to be able to get a decent shot of a moose. Thanks for sharing.