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The beauty and wonder of nature
This weekend we spent some quality(?) time slogging through hip-deep snow around our 10 acres, trying to tire out the dogs. Lucky, at least, has been bouncing off the walls during the past week, when it's been too cold for them or us to feel like taking walks.
Anyway, as well as lots of beautiful snow-covered scenery, we found an interesting example of nature in action on the frozen creek about 200 yards from our house: an apparently wolf-killed moose. It's a very small moose and I believe it's one of the two calves that have (had) been hanging around the yard this fall and winter.
I can't prove that a wolf or wolves did the deed, since the tracks in the area were so indistinct in the deep, soft snow that I couldn't pick out any obvious wolf tracks. I suppose the moose could have died of starvation or exposure, and been scavenged by foxes and ravens. But it was picked so thoroughly clean -- it looked like piranhas had been at it. And I know we have wolves around here.
You're looking from the back of the moose forward. Its head, the only part that hasn't been picked clean, is twisted to the right and covered with snow. (You can't really see it in the picture.) Its hipbones are sticking up in the foreground of the picture.
Closeup showing the shredded meat on the rib cage.
The beauty and marvel of nature!
Anyway, as well as lots of beautiful snow-covered scenery, we found an interesting example of nature in action on the frozen creek about 200 yards from our house: an apparently wolf-killed moose. It's a very small moose and I believe it's one of the two calves that have (had) been hanging around the yard this fall and winter.
I can't prove that a wolf or wolves did the deed, since the tracks in the area were so indistinct in the deep, soft snow that I couldn't pick out any obvious wolf tracks. I suppose the moose could have died of starvation or exposure, and been scavenged by foxes and ravens. But it was picked so thoroughly clean -- it looked like piranhas had been at it. And I know we have wolves around here.
You're looking from the back of the moose forward. Its head, the only part that hasn't been picked clean, is twisted to the right and covered with snow. (You can't really see it in the picture.) Its hipbones are sticking up in the foreground of the picture.
Closeup showing the shredded meat on the rib cage.
The beauty and marvel of nature!
no subject
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It does look alarmingly soft and fuzzy.
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/freak
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The rib cage looks strangely cool sticking up from the snow like that. We saw it from a ways off, and it just didn't look ... well, natural. It was obviously something out of place in the quiet blanket of snow.
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You did not see this much nature close up where you last lived, did you?
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About the closest thing we got was a squirrel that escaped from one of the feral cats in the neighborhood to stagger onto our lawn and die. (Or rather, lie there having seizures until we took pity on it and put it out of its misery.)
Nature is a bit more in-your-face around here.
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Damn straight. Never saw a ribbed carcass before IRL. Just in the old westerns or the cartoons. Now I'm torn from wanting BBQ ribs or just being repulsed by the whole idea.
Back home, deer started coming up to our house and peeking through the windows from time to time, the little perverts.
yaaargh...
Janer
Of course...
Re: Of course...