26 July
Johnson Lake SP
We saw “Mamasita” the other day during our morning walk. She was keeping her two calves in the shrubs at a distance so we could not see them. We have not seen her since.
We are very careful not to get too close or between a mamma and her calves. So we are always on “alert” as we walk the trails around the campground. Looking for bear and moose. The willow brush is just tall enough to camouflage these animals so they can be rather stealthy.
Today, I was outside working on the house, and I spotted movement in the bushes right across the path from us. I quickly summoned my “animal whisper” and she emerged with the Nikon in hand.
Mamasita Moosey was visiting and foraging within 40 feet of us. Ann Marie, strategically placed herself in a safe spot that Moosey could hear her and see her. Ann Marie was carrying on a conversation, telling Moosey it was ok to let her babies be seen. Well, after about 10 minutes of chomping down on the young tender sprouts of the willows, Ann Marie had worn her down, and her kids emerged from behind a neighbors RV.
As Moosey strolled in front of our neighbors RV (they were not home), her size was more apparent, as she was out in the unprotected open, showing us she did not see us as a threat, she was hungry, and she didn’t care if we were there or not. She is not the biggest moose we have seen, but big enough. Really cool.
Mamasita’s family stayed around, listening to the whisperer and the sound of the Nikon’s shutter, and at times looking and flapping their ears in concurrence with what was being said. The family circled to the side and rear of our campsite, at times getting less then 30 feet away, all the time chomping on leafs and vegetation for better than 30 minutes. I grabbed a chair, a beer, and just sat there and watched them.
My “whisperer” was in absolute heaven and so was I. Alaska seems to always have something to offer us, whether it is mountains, tundra, rivers, or wildlife, it is just amazing.
