A Mother’s Love

When moose are born they are completely helpless. A single born baby moose calf will weigh around 30 pounds while twins will weigh somewhat less at about 14 pounds. At this time they are completely vulnerable to predators, to protect her calf the cow will keep her calf completely hidden for several days.

Young moose are born with excellent hearing and a sense of smell. Unfortunately the calf moose has poor eyesight, the same as adults.

After only a few days a moose calf is capable of outrunning a human. Moose gain weight at an incredible rate in the first year of life. A calf will gain more than 1 pound a day in the spring and later will have weight gain of over 4 pounds a day.

While hiking in Grand Teton National Park I came upon this mother can calf. I sat watching their interaction. A mothers love is noticeable throughout nature. This mom was laying there with her calf. You could see the connection she had with her calf. The love.  I was lucky and captured this touching moment. 

A few minutes after this shot an irresponsible tourist began to go closer to the mom and calf. The mother stood right up, and started making aggressive gestures to the person. That person quickly moved away when they saw the size of the mother.

Location: Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming