Shirasi Moose (Alces alces shirasi)

Shirasi Moose (Alces alces shirasi) - female

This moose was seen near the Rawah Wilderness in Colorado on the afternoon of July 3rd, 2011. There was a calf present with this cow, but it is not in the picture. Hopefully I can get more of the pictures that were taken and add them here, but for now this is what there is. We were backpacking in the Rawah Wilderness for the holiday weekend when we were met with minimal success- we encountered snow drifts that were impassable even in July. We decided to relocate to another area, and on the way out of the wilderness I saw these moose as we were driving by so of course we stopped to take pictures. This area is where the moose were reintroduced to Colorado in the 1970's, and as such contains the largest population of moose in the state. It is a shame that a male wasn't seen, because their antlers are pretty cool. Apparently the male will drop his antlers after mating season to conserve energy. You can read more about the moose here, more about their reintroduction to Colorado here, and more about the Rawah Wilderness here.