It happened in Nova Scotia.
The signs in the National Park said:
“You are responsible for your own safety. Don’t …”, and then a whole plethora of things we were supposed to not even think of.
Most importantly – it was mating season. The season of the powerful moose.
The information posts illustrated in dramatic language how dangerous it was to get close to a male.
These gigantic, forceful guys were now in hot pursuit of the females and ready, willing and able to wipe everything and everybody out of the way. No matter what.
Also the signs said it was very rare to catch a glimpse of them, anyway.
Still, they were very shy and avoided humans the best they could.
You've got to get away from the crowds
Nevertheless, tourists came streaming in, well-armed with all sorts of cameras: „Where’s the moose? Where’s the moose? Have you seen one? Where are they? Gotta catch them.“
It was late afternoon and we were still hoping that all these loud and invasive people would finally give up and head back home for dinner. Then we would have this beautiful, quiet, autumnal park for ourselves.
Fortunately, we could sneak away from the crowd a little bit.
It didn’t take long and we were all alone, just roaming about, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere.
The chance of the quiet ones
We turned around a corner – and there she was.
A big brown female moose, absolutely relaxed, eating her way through the grass and herbs.
She ignored us completely and we could slowly and quietly get a little closer and take a lot of photos.
She was a wonderful model on camera, so easy-going and serene. And the warm sunlight was just perfect on her.
We looked at each other – well, if there was a female …
There had to be a male somewhere close.
In the end we are all hunters-gatherers
Well, I think, these are the situations when you have this archaic impulse. At least, if you are easily tempted by the chance for an adventure. After all, we humans are hunters and gatherers by nature, right?!
Okay, we were ready to go after an exciting prey. So we started to sneak through the bushes on tiptoe, keenly looking around.
Sh... - something important was missing
Suddenly I heard my partner curse – he had just taken his final photo with his single-lens reflex camera.
No more than 36 pictures on one photographic film back then. And there was no other film left.
I was lucky though, I had a small digital camera. No interchangeable lenses, a very primitive setup, but better than nothing.
However, I had another problem: The batteries were almost empty.
Then we heard a crack in the woods. And another one.
And then – He appeared on the stage.
Huge, powerful, majestic. So cool.
I admired his monstrous antlers. What an impressive sight!
But with this tiny camera without a tele lens and maybe only one or two possible shots left before the batteries would die, I had to take a risk.
What had the instructions said when meeting a moose in season?
Take on a submissive posture, don’t look straight but lower your gaze. Retreat at once in an uninterrupted fashion, slowly and quietly.
Thrill of the hunt
I did exactly that – except that I very slowly moved forward instead of backwards to bring myself in a good shooting position.
The moose looked at me for a little while, shook his head in a kind of demonstration and I could hear my partner still cursing quietly in the background.
He had the tele lens, but no film. I had only a primitive snapshot camera and almost empty batteries.
What the heck! I waited for Him to come a little closer – and then the sunlight just sent a sparkle to his eye.
I pushed the trigger. Bam!
The moose looked at me pounding and started to grunt: „Ooof, ooof, ooof…“
This was the final alarm signal.
According to the park instructions this meant: „Get the hell out of here, or …“
Submissive posture, reverse gear, quick retreat.
And then run. Back to the path and back to the car. Jumping, laughing, rejoycing: „I got him! I got him!“
Hunter‘s luck, hunter’s pride!
It’s not the best shot ever. Not the best resolution. It’s just small. But one of my absolute favorites.
Because every picture strikes a memory and tells a story. This one in particular.
Hopefully, our new adventures with Big Paul will bring a lot of new photos and a lot of new stories!
I guess, I’m still a passionate hunter-gatherer…
