The latest additions to the local San Juan moose population come with the birth of twins a few weeks ago right near the town of Silverton. Their mother is the same cow moose that gave birth to a single calf named Dennis in May of 2021. As is typically the case, when a cow gives birth to calves in successive years, the yearling is no longer welcome to stay with mom and is forced out. This was the case with Dennis, whose mother ran him off. He stuck close by for about a week, but whenever he tried to get close, she would run at him to let him know he was no longer welcome. Fortunately, he is now a good sized and healthy young bull and will likely do just fine on his own.
The new moose twins appear healthy and are doing well. After spending several days attempting to get decent photos of the new twins I received a text from a friend that they were bedded down very close to their house. I quickly went over and spotted them, but all three were laying down as it was late morning and getting rather warm. I decided to wait for them to get up and feed, which I knew the young calves would need to do before long. After a couple of hours, the calves got up and started wandering around. Even though I was close by, they had become comfortable with my presence. I’m fairly certain that the mother intentionally chose to give birth and to stay close to town as it deters predators from her vulnerable young calves. A few minutes later their mother got up, at which point the two calves immediately charged over and started nursing. Mom waited patiently for a bit, but then decided it was enough and walked away, ending their meal.
The calves wandered around nibbling on willow leaves with mom keeping a close eye on them. Although the midday light wasn’t ideal, they were close by in a clearing, which allowed me to get some decent photos. From these photos I was able to determine that both the calves are females, although one is larger than the other. Since they are Silverton locals, I figured that they need names. I asked several friends for ideas, suggesting that we stick with using cartoon or animated character names. My friend Melanie suggested the names Anna and Elsa, after the sisters in the animated Disney film Frozen. I thought that these sounded perfect for our new local calves.
Perhaps you will be fortunate enough to see Anna and Elsa or another young moose calf with their mother this summer. If you do, please keep a respectful distance, and keep your dogs away. Even full-grown moose can disappear quite easily into the tall willows, so it isn’t a good idea to go wandering through the willows in the river valleys, especially this time of year when you may unexpectedly run into a protective mother moose!
The new moose twins appear healthy and are doing well. After spending several days attempting to get decent photos of the new twins I received a text from a friend that they were bedded down very close to their house. I quickly went over and spotted them, but all three were laying down as it was late morning and getting rather warm. I decided to wait for them to get up and feed, which I knew the young calves would need to do before long. After a couple of hours, the calves got up and started wandering around. Even though I was close by, they had become comfortable with my presence. I’m fairly certain that the mother intentionally chose to give birth and to stay close to town as it deters predators from her vulnerable young calves. A few minutes later their mother got up, at which point the two calves immediately charged over and started nursing. Mom waited patiently for a bit, but then decided it was enough and walked away, ending their meal.
The calves wandered around nibbling on willow leaves with mom keeping a close eye on them. Although the midday light wasn’t ideal, they were close by in a clearing, which allowed me to get some decent photos. From these photos I was able to determine that both the calves are females, although one is larger than the other. Since they are Silverton locals, I figured that they need names. I asked several friends for ideas, suggesting that we stick with using cartoon or animated character names. My friend Melanie suggested the names Anna and Elsa, after the sisters in the animated Disney film Frozen. I thought that these sounded perfect for our new local calves.
Perhaps you will be fortunate enough to see Anna and Elsa or another young moose calf with their mother this summer. If you do, please keep a respectful distance, and keep your dogs away. Even full-grown moose can disappear quite easily into the tall willows, so it isn’t a good idea to go wandering through the willows in the river valleys, especially this time of year when you may unexpectedly run into a protective mother moose!