March 22, 2011

Mildred the Moose

I just read a story of a little deer in Vermont who is spending time with a herd of cattle. It seems the other deer in it's group were taken by coyote this winter and one was hit by a vehicle. It put me in mind of a yearling moose that joined a herd of dry cows a couple of years ago in Bath, NH. 


Every spring just as moose calves are about to be born, mothers run off the calves that have been following them for the past year. Some of the yearlings get confused at first and will even walk up to humans. Moose - cow relationships don't happen often but are not unheard of.


Two years ago, I read an article in the local paper about a young cow moose that joined a small herd of dry cows on the Minot farm in Bath. At first the cows were not too friendly to the moose but soon began to tolerate her. Willie Minot named her Mildred and folks started coming around to see Mildred the Moose.


Dan's mother was visiting for the fourth of July and we decided to drive out to see Mildred. She had been with the herd going on four weeks at this point. At first we did not see her, and drove down the road past the farm. We decided to turn the car around and make one more pass on our way back home. That's when we spotted her and I got these photos. I don't know how long she stayed with the herd but I am glad she found some 'friends' during that transition time.
Here's a video that was posted on youtube about Mildred the Moose
(you can turn off the music at the bottom of the page if you wish to hear the video)

5 comments:

Lady Jane said...

Love your moose story Ruta. We get them down in our neck of the woods sometimes. Seems like we will never see spring here. I am waiting patiently and keeping a smile on my face, lol...

Ruta said...

Me too! We get teased with some spring-like weather and then the cold returns with more snow!

Peacemom said...

HI Ruta, great moose story! She's a cutie. Also wanted to say thank you for the well wishes over on my blog. Yesterday was a tough day, today will be better. I never stay too bogged down, always moving forward. It was very nice to have your blessings sent my way. Hope your day is wonderful. ~Vonnie

~mel said...

That's a great story. I'm glad the moose showed itself for you. Do you have many moose in your area? I wish we had more of them around here. Every year there is one or two spotted ~ but it's very far and few between.

Ruta said...

Hi Vonnie - Hope today's a better day for you

Good luck keeps us happy. Worries keep us human, failures make us humble. Success makes us grow. And FAMILY and FRIENDS are the ones that keep us going!

Hi Mel -Yes, we do have quite a few moose up here although I haven't seen any this winter. I hope to see more in the spring when they start moving around.