Mooseketeers

It’s 7:30 am at Sheep Lakes. Three big brown bodies are wading in the water. Photographers focus their mega-lenses on them. Visitors wield cell phone cameras. I mingle in my volunteer uniform among the folks making sure they stay back from the meadow at a safe distance.

This scenario describes my early Sunday summer mornings at Rocky Mountain National Park in my expanded volunteer role as a Mooseketeer. Although the moose may stick around for a bit, my primary volunteer duty later in the morning will be to assist with traffic control as part of the Bighorn Brigade if Bighorn Sheep come to their namesake lakes to ingest their dose of minerals.

I am learning more about moose every day. I love to see and talk about them in the park. Their presence on the east side of the park is a new phenomenon and they have become common residents. They come to Sheep Lakes to ingest the aquatic plants.

Moose are the most dangerous animals in Rocky Mountain National Park. People worry about black bears and mountain lions, but nothing can compare to an annoyed moose. Although Bullwinkle J. Moose was a benign sidekick of Rocky J. Squirrel, moose are far from docile.

I have encountered moose on trails who blithely walk away when they see me. On the other hand, I have come across them when they quite literally dug their hooves in, gave me the eye, and declared without a doubt that I was the one who needed to move away. I am not one to argue with a 500–1000-pound animal that can run as fast as 30 mph.

Until recently had little interaction with moose. Other ungulates in the park such as mule deer, bighorn sheep, and elk tend to be herding animals. Although more than one moose might appear, I like the independent nature of moose.

I admire their jumping ability. “Exclosures” were constructed in the park to keep elk from over-grazing willow and aspen areas. The fences are six feet high to keep elk out. However, moose can jump seven feet or higher, so these fences do not deter moose from the willow smorgasbords.

The Mooseketeers group is an experimental project aimed at keeping the moose safe from people, the people safe from the moose, and the people safe from one another. We will see how the summer goes. In the meantime, being in the park in the early morning seeing “The Bullwinkle Show” is far more exciting than a childhood TV cartoon!