Wildlife

The frequency of moose sightings has shot through the roof since I've been down on the Kenai. In Anchorage I was seeing them maybe 3 times a week, while down here I'm seeing them multiple times a day. Yesterday alone I had 3 separate sightings. My favorite was a mommy moose with a baby right near the cabins - there's a little clearing about 100 ft before the driveway that they were standing in, just munching on some trees. The babies are just so cute. The moms don't care at all that you're sitting there watching them, but the babies haven't had the same exposure to cars, yet, so they get a little scared.

I don't know if I wrote about this yet, but I drove down this long road in Anchorage that goes into the foot of the mountains because I was just exploring. I saw some great houses down that road - funky looking houses perched on the side of the mountain, overlooking Anchorage/the valley. While up there, I saw a mom and baby moose on the side of the road. As I pulled up the baby started to sort of run away, but, when the mom didn't run away he ran back to her. He was right in the middle of the road standing a few feet from my car just running back and forth trying to figure out what to do. He was really young and was still a little clumsy so he looked really silly trying to change directions quickly. When he moved I drove past and turned around down the road so I could come back and take a picture and there was a guy on a motorcycle coming out of the road I turned around in. He started to go, but when he saw the baby he stopped and backed up because he didn't want to scare it, then he waved me ahead. How nice of him. Unfortunately, I only had my cell phone and it's a piece of crap so I can't get the picture off of it.

So, back to the wildlife sightings here. Last night I was out by the fire pit bringing some boxes out there when I heard something in the forest. I figured it was the little bunny that lives back there or a robin, like it usually is. Then I looked up and saw a big giant moose a few trees away walking toward me. I hit the fire pit stones a few times with a stick and spoke to alert it of my presence before she got too close to me without realizing I was there. She just looked up at me and stared at me for about 20 seconds. Longest 20 seconds of my life. After that she just walked away casually then as she reached the woods she started trotting off. Moose look hysterical when they run. Earlier in the day I saw one running through the backyard and up into the woods - that one was really hauling ass. When I see them run I'm always expecting them to tumble forward at any second because they're so awkward.

I keep finding fur out back. I think it might be bear fur, too. I originally assumed it was moose fur because I see them all the time, but, on closer examination, it's far too black to be from a moose. It's about 3.5 inches long and it's really fine and soft. I think bear fur is pretty coarse, but it could be the matting part. I'll take a picture of it later today. I'm really glad it's light for so long here because I'd probably be a huge wimp about going outside late at night if it did get really dark. It's comforting to be able to see my surroundings when I know there's wildlife around.

In my bear fur research, I came across this awesome article.