Sneak
Peek
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Sneak Peek |
| Many evenings we see the same moose night
after night so much so that we become very familiar with their physical
characteristics, markings, antler size and shape, as well as that big
"thing" that hangs down from their neck and chin area. All
these things help us to identify one moose from the other. You might
think that this is not important but believe me it is very important
because not only do moose have different physical characteristics but they
also have different temperaments and personality quirks.
The first bull moose I will introduce you to is one that has been nicknamed Gordon by our driver and guide Vicki. We have been seeing Gordon for more than 5 years now and he is a very friendly and photogenic bull moose. He is big and gentle and seems to love to have his picture taken by all the guests who are lucky enough to get to meet him. So let me now take this opportunity to introduce you to Gordon. |
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| I know you probably think he looks camera shy in this photo but he is anything but camera shy. In this photo he was no more than 15 feet from us and we spent at least an hour with him. He got so full from eating that before we left him he decided to lay down and take a nap and that is when we made our exit. Here is another photo of him as seen with our guests the same evening this photo was taken. |
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| In the photo above Gordon is in the shadows between the little guy with the tie dye shirt
and the bigger guy to the far right.
These photos were taken of Gordon in June so pay particular attention to the size of his antlers and to the "thing" that hangs down under his neck. I point this out because during the summer his antlers will grow to at least twice this size as you will see in other photos to follow. Now this "thing" that hangs down under his neck is called a dewlap, pronounced just as it looks. The dewlap is also commonly and correctly called the bell. This thing serves absolutely no purpose that any man has yet figured out. There have been some who have made guesses to its purpose but I haven't heard any that make any sense yet. You will notice the dewlap size and shape in the photo on the right in the photos below. The photo on the left shows his left ear which is split in three separate pieces. It is not as visible in this photo as it was in the original but if you look real close you will see at least two pieces to the left ear. This is caused by fighting in the fall when the bulls are fighting for mating rights and those ears get in between two sets of antlers and many times the ears have lasting reminders of fights from previous years. |
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| The following photos of Gordon were taken in either July or August and here you will see the difference in the size of his antlers from the June photos. If you look real close to the photo on the left you can see the split in his left ear a little better but there are really three separate pieces even though it looks like two in this photo. The photo on the right shows Gordon in the water doing what he does best FEEDING with Mt. Katahdin looming in the background. |
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| In the following photos you will see Gordon's antlers are bigger still than they were in the previous photos. These photos were taken in the fall just a day or two after he had lost his velvet. If you notice the antlers have a reddish look about them and that is because they are still a little bloody from having just lost the velvet. Notice also how much longer the tines are here than they were in the July and Augusts photos. The dewlap is also much bigger in the fall than it was in the spring and summer and again he is doing what he does best EATING. A big moose like Gordon will eat between 40 to 60 lbs. of food everyday. By now he has gained all the weight he will before winter. In just a matter of days this moose will begin his yearly search to find as many mates as possible to breed with. During that time there will be little time for feeding, love is the only thing on his mind for several weeks. This will cause him to loose much of his weight that he has worked all summer to put on, so after mating is over for the year, guess what Gordon will go back to doing. You guessed it FEEDING in an attempt to put as much of that weight back on in order to survive the harsh Maine winter. |
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