BWCA Moose Encounter- Part One

Let me start by giving credit to my brother, Tom Pecharich, for taking these incredible photos of a cow moose rescuing her calf from the water (click on photos to see larger images). This photo shows the cow biting the ear of the calf, apparently trying to steer the calf back to shore.  Unfortunately, in the panic of the situation, the pair veered in two different directions before deciding to head for a point that was at least twice as far as the nearest landing.

The action started out just about 50 feet from where we were camped, on Malberg Lake.  I was fiddling with my fishing line, looking at a knot that I was tying, when I heard a loud splash near where I had beached the canoe.  When I looked up, at first I thought that I was looking at an adult deer.  I knew that everybody else had heard the splash, and I was the only one with a clear line of sight to the noise, so I immediately said "deer", just to calm any fears that it was something to worry about.  After a second or two, I realized that I was looking at a newborn moose, which are much lighter in color than an adult.

In this photo, it is evident that the cow is giving a piggy-back ride to the calf, which was struggling to stay afloat by this point.  Note that the back of the calf is almost perpendicular to the back of the cow, yet the wake created by each is moving in the same direction, which shows that they were each moving in the same direction.  On several occasions, the cow could be seen looking back at the calf, making sure that her efforts were paying off.

This is a photo of mama moose entering the water, just as she realized that her calf was in trouble.  What an impressive animal!  Thanks again to my brother, Tom Pecharich, for taking these photos- nice work!