Meeting the Moose

My first day at the moose pens was very exciting. I got to practice with the radio telemetry and tracked a moose named Mattie who was one of the friendly moose at the pens and quite the mooch. So there I was walking on snow shoes that were a bit awkward in about 4 feet of snow and when I finally find Mattie instead of hiding or running away like a wild moose would she comes walking right up to me and lets me scratch her ears. Then nearly knocks me over when I decide to stop. So I'm taking photos of Mattie and suddenly she starts to put her ears back and and moan and move away. I'm wondering what I could have done to bother her and trying awkwardly to move away without falling only to hear movement behind me and see Melody come charging out of the trees in order to chase Mattie away! Well imagine trying to run on snow shoes that are about 32" long while avoiding a moose quarrel. I nearly needed new underwear and would soon learn this is everyday life at the moose pens. They rarely are out to get you but it's not always easy to get out of their way when they want at each other. Quite the amazing and exciting first day. These photos are both Mattie.