We decided several weeks ago that we needed to spend a day or two on the southwest corner of the Rocky Mountain National Park to complete our circumference of the park, and to hopefully see some moose as the Park Service lists the southwest corner as a likely place to stumble across them.  We were not disappointed!

Only a few minutes into the park, we noticed a group of cars parked along the side of Trail Ridge road.  In RMNP, this is a sure sign that there is wildlife nearby that everyone has stopped to watch, whether it be elk, moose, bighorn sheep, or deer. 

As luck would have it, a bull moose out grazing in the wetlands on the west side of the road. 

About half of moose’s 9,770 calorie daily intake is from aquatic plants as they provide the quantity of sodium that they need, so low lying areas with a mixture of young trees and aquatic plants are a great place to find them.

The average bull moose stands 6’ – 7’ high at the shoulder, and weighs anywhere from 850-1580lbs with antlers ranging from 3.9’ to 4.9’.  Not something that you want to spook or anger!

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