What is the plural for "moose"???

It's rut season and we live in the wilderness.  As such, the wildlife are out and about, mating and getting ready for winter.  We live only a few minutes out of town and a few kilometers from the Wapiti River valley so we see/hear wild creatures in this area all the time which is part of the charm of living here.  Deer, coyotes, fox and rabbits are all pretty common -- but moose are a different story.  They are amazing animals!  Massive and majestic.  Fascinating to watch on the very rare occasion that one has emerged from the forest behind our property.  One would think that these shy, seemingly docile creatures are harmless ... not so!  Apparently, an encounter with a moose is more dangerous than an encounter with a bear, especially during calving season, mating season and when dogs are involved.

Puppy needs to go out every morning to take care of business.  Usually I take her for a walk up and down our relatively quiet country road for her morning constitution but if we're in a hurry (or if we are feeling lazy), she gets a short sprint to her second favorite pee-spot near the trailer.  Normally she is on the leash as she is a bit unpredictable.  For a small dog with short legs, she can sure move and she's got big dog attitude! More than once, Sweetie has had to do the 50-yard dash to stop her from chasing the neighbor's black lab all the way back to his own porch.

One morning just before Thanksgiving, Sweetie took a turn for puppy's morning business and it was to be a short jaunt to the alternate pee-spot (while I stayed warmly snugged up in bed).  When they returned, an ashen Sweetie woke me up, called me over to the window and showed me a big bull moose trotting across the yard!  Apparently, Sweetie and puppy went dashing out the front door and nearly ran into the bull who was standing RIGHT at the end of our trailer directly in the path to the pee-spot.  A startled Sweetie stepped behind a tree in case the startled bull decided to charge, then backpedaled to the safety of the trailer.  Mr Bull did not charge and instead, hopped the barbed wire fence and headed off towards the forest from whence he came.  Later, on his way to work, Sweetie returned to warn me that another 3 moose were loitering up the road where I usually take puppy for her extended morning walk.

We also take Puppy for walks along the road for her evening constitution and our usual evening route takes us in the other direction to the end of the road.  Its a rather secluded spot and judging by the evidence, its sometimes a hang-out for crack-heads, amorous couples and people too lazy or too cheap to take their garbage to the dump.

On one of our evening walks this past weekend, we noticed a garbage can and a couple of garbage bags at the end of the road.  Sweetie investigated the contents of the bags and discovered that at least one moose in the area had most likely found himself at the wrong end of a hunting rifle.  It was a grim walk home.

The following morning, puppy was again needing her daily walk (which she very much looks forward to) and as usual, I bundled up for the morning chill and hooked her to the leash.  As soon as I opened the front door I could hear howling coyotes.  They were surprisingly loud but since it was coming from the direction of our previous day's 'discovery', I surmised that they were probably far enough away and probably preoccupied with their "find"; a walk down the road in the other direction was probably safe.  Puppy did not agree.  She wanted no part of it and no amount of coaxing would get her any further than the end of our driveway.  Apparently her 'big dog' attitude does not extend to howling coyotes.

In fact, this was not the first time we've encountered coyotes nearby.  One evening last week, I decided to take puppy to the end of the road instead of our usual route in the other direction because frankly, the usual route was getting boring.  I don't often walk that way by myself.  Call me chicken but there is a stretch of road that is flanked on both sides by dense trees which is a bit disconcerting and at the very end, there are trees on 3 sides with swamp beyond that.  Puppy and I were just past the last driveway when suddenly, a coyote started 'yipping' from just out of sight.  And then another.  And then their comrade chimed in from the other side of the road.  I have read that several coyotes barking at the same time can sound like many more than there actually are ... but wow!  It sounded  like a whole pack was surrounding us!  We turned around without finishing puppy's business and hurriedly walked (if you run, they'll think you're prey!) home where I immediately changed my underwear.

Last night, puppy ate an especially big supper and this morning, she really needed to go out.  Unfortunately at 7:30am it is still very dark out and after our close encounter with the coyotes, I am wary of going out in less than broad-daylight conditions.  However, puppy sat by the door grunting relentlessly and I decided we would probably be OK if we stuck to the road more traveled.

The first 10 minutes of our walk was uneventful.  Puppy did her usual thing -- sniffing about, marking territory and a much needed crap.  But then I saw it ... and luckily I saw it!  It was very dim but just across the ditch between some trees, a big dark 'blob'.  Not a shadow, shadows don't move.  There are no cattle, horses or donkeys there and it was too big to be a deer.  It is also very near where Sweetie warned me of the 3 loitering moose a few days ago ... so I'm pretty sure the 'blob' could only have been a moose. 

Like I said, I find them fascinating and I love to watch them from afar and from the safety and comfort of my living room.  It is a much different story when I am out in the wide open and well within "chase and trample" range (Update: I paced off the distance the next day ... in broad daylight of course: less than 50 paces!  And there were indeed moose tracks on the road where I had been).  This time I ran full tilt!  A quick peek over my shoulder showed the 'blob' was on the road behind us but luckily it was not in pursuit and a passing car scared it back into the trees. 

Yup, one more pair of gaunchies for the laundry.