Thought I’d do something different for this challenge. This is a very cold moose, scrounging for frozen grasses under the fresh snow alongside the Glen Highway between Anchorage and Glenallen, Alaska. It was only around -15°F but this area can easily get as low as -50°F. It always amazes me that these animals can survive those conditions!
Is this a composite: No
Sony a6000, FE 70-200 F4 G @ 200 mm, ISO-100, f/4.0, 1/100, hand held.
Love the profile shot and the snow on the nose! You were able to get so close! 200mm! That must have been awesome!
Oh she’s lovely (I think it’s a cow) and you’re lucky to have them. I don’t have anything to add except that the horizon looks tilted, but that’s my nemesis so I’m always looking for it.
And a thought on how she says warm - I don’t know if moose do it, too, but when white tailed deer molt in fall and grow their winter coats, the hairs come in hollow (like caribou) and that goes a long way in upping the insulating properties of their fur.
Great shot there Gary, and she looks very determined to survive another winter. Yes, like the snowy nose and ears, along with the inclusion of her food supply. She appears to be pretty level herself, so I’m thinking the “horizon” is just a natural slope, which probably better represents her actual habitat.
Gary, this is a fine profile shot and at 200 mm, you were quite close. Love the dried grasses in her mouth. I’ve read that Moose can overheat in the sun at 55°F.
Yes, it was a cow and here’s a wide angle shot that explains the artificial horizon:
Winter Browsing
Aw, she’s lovely and seems she was having a lie down there for a while. What a great encounter! And sorry for the horizon bit. My bad.
