Life in the Wedding Circle, day two:
This morning's sunrise illuminated a scene that was a near duplicate of yesterday's, but better in terms of offering me a Kodak-moment with the newborn moose calf.
I took the attached pictures shortly after sunrise. And when I left the cow-calf duo, the calf was nursing.
Nearly an hour after the attached pictures were taken, I, inside the house, happened to look out to see the cow moose in a new location. I then noticed movement at her feet, and was subsequently able to determine that it was the calf, struggling to get out of Rock Creek. This went on for upwards of 15 minutes, during which time I was wondering whether, or not, to risk my life in an attempt to do what the cow moose couldn't.
I'd rather be between a sow grizzly and her cubs than between a cow moose and her calf, but every mother's different, and I thought this particular cow moose, quite tolerant of me, might let me intervene. Might.
There was, however, no safe way for me to approach, to safely "test the water." (When a moose folds its ears against its neck, it's time to be elsewhere.)
Interestingly, the cow eventually—intentionally or inadvertently—knocked the struggling calf into the creek. It was swept downstream, got caught in willows and, again, seemed at risk of drowning. It labored there for some minutes as I, again, contemplated diving into the picture.
The good news: The calf eventually inched its way through the willows and out of the water. It's now back on terra firma, in the sun, and with the cow.
And, like yesterday morning at this time, the two moose are exactly where they were when I photographed them, and I'm watching them while sitting at my computer.
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