■^m 
^c Sliiras, 3ilI 
YOUNG GULLS WHOSE LATER COLORING HARMONIZED WITH THE ROCKS AND GRAY 
BRUSLI SO CLOSELY THAT IT REQUIRED A SKYLINE PHOTOGRAPH TO SHOW THEM 
See writer's opinion on protective coloration in first part of sheep article 
the surface flow, for much of the ground 
was hard and dry, which accounted for 
the moose opening up a new lick near 
the lake by tapping the springs at the 
base of the sloping shore. 
"The number of fresh tracks and the 
variation in size finally convinced Tom 
that a good many bulls were regular pa- 
trons. The surrounding country had all 
been burnt over many years before, and 
this was somewdiat unfavorable for day- 
light photography, since bull moose are 
largely nocturnal, unlike the caribou and 
elk, especially when visiting licks or ex- 
posed feeding places. The ones we had 
just seen were early morning visitors, 
and the little patch of spruce would have 
sheltered them until afternoon or even- 
ing but for our unexpected arrival. 
''While talking over the location of 
the blind in reference to the position of 
the sun at dififerent hours and the prob- 
ably prevailing winds — the two vital ele- 
ments in this kind of photography — we 
saw the big bull a mile away, tearing 
along the top of a bare ridge leading to 
the mountain forests. His gait showed 
that stolidity had at last given way to a 
belated but overpowering fear. We 
never saw that animal again in the weeks 
spent on the lowlands. When cutting- 
some brush a good-sized cow moose 
walked up within a stone's throw, trot- 
ting away unmolested. 
"Anxious to know the number and 
course of the runways and the character 
of the country immediately back of the 
lake before taking up the daily vigil at 
the blind, we went inshore half a mile to 
the pond where the moose were seen the 
evening before. Here several acres of 
pond lilies in shallow waters were un- 
touched — not a leaf or root had been 
eaten or disturbed — in striking contrast 
to the moose of Elaine, New Brunswick, 
central Canada, and [Minnesota, which 
always considered such aquatic plants 
the choicest of summer food. Yet I no- 
ticed the same lack of appreciation in the 
moose of higher altitudes in Wyoming 
and elsewhere. Going a mile further, 
Tom recognized a high mound as the 
lookout for the other lick, and this was 
examined with great care. While used to 
some extent, it was only a brief stopping 
place for the moose en route to the shore 
lick — indicated by the runways, but more 
particularly by the condition of the soil" 
Whenever the wind was favorable and 
the weather clear I went to the blind, but 
usually between 9 and 4 the breeze came 
from the lake, cutting oiT the principal 
runways, so that in a few days a number 
of moose suspected, though unjustly, 
that a foe was in ambush near the lick. 
Altogether I saw some 30 moose in 
the immediate neighborhood, many of 
them the same animals, returning on dif- 
ferent days. One big moose came within 
easv rifle shot, got the scent and retired. 
445 
