One of my favorite things about fall, besides the amazing coloring from the leaves, is that the bull moose are out in all their glory. For moose, who are the largest of the deer family, the males are the only ones who grow antlers. And man can they grow them! This year a hunter harvested a moose whose antlers were measured at 80 inches, that's over 6 1/2 feet from end to end.  I can't imagine the muscles in that moose's neck that allowed him to carry that much weight. Now granted, that was a record breaking rack. Most that you see when visiting Alaska don't get quite that big but they are still really impressive. Moose start growing their antlers in early spring and continue until they shed them in December. That is such a short time to get such impressive racks. Here are a few that I have found in the last year or two:

M163A bull moose found on JBER.

 

 

 

This handsome man I found on Joint Base Elemendorf Richardson in late September.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

M102A backward glance

 

 

 

This young man I found during the late summer/early fall, he was checking out a few females.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

M117Studly bull moose.

 

 

 

This guy was found out by the Eagle River Nature Center in late summer. You can see his antlers still have the velvet on them so they are still growing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

While most bull moose have these impressive racks, there are a few that may have some work to do on theirs!

M134A young bull moose along the Glenn Highway.

 

 

This poor guy was seen on the Glenn Highway just outside of Glennallen. Looks like one of his antlers were a bit cuddly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

M114Some odd horns.

 

I found this guy in late autumn on Joint Base Elemendorf Richardson. I am hoping he is a young male who is just practicing growing his antlers for next year.

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