Amateur photographer and Aztec resident Lauren Merritt caught this pair of moose moseying their way toward U.S. Highway 550 in Silverton on Sunday afternoon. Merritt said he was driving from Ouray to Silverton when he saw that a driver on the side of the road near the gas station at the bend in the road had stopped to take photos. Merritt stopped to see what had caught the guy’s interest. One had antlers, the other did not – presumably a male and female. Eventually, people in about 15 cars had stopped to take in the sight of the stately wildlife. “It was like a bear sighting in Yellowstone,” said Merritt – a native of Afton, Wyo., near the national park. Moose were transplanted to Southwest Colorado about 20 years ago, say wildlife officials. They are sometimes seen around Silverton and generally inhabit creek bottoms with thick willows. Wildlife officials caution people to keep a good distance from the enormous animals, which can be aggressive. For more information about living with moose, visit www.cpw.state.co.us/learn/Pages/LivingwithWildlifeMoose.aspx.
Amateur photographer and Aztec resident Lauren Merritt caught this pair of moose moseying their way toward U.S. Highway 550 in Silverton on Sunday afternoon. Merritt said he was driving from Ouray to Silverton when he saw that a driver on the side of the road near a gas station at the bend in the road had stopped to take photos. Merritt stopped to see what had caught the guy’s interest. One had antlers, the other did not – presumably a male and female. He said crows around the moose were as interested as the humans were. People in about 15 cars had stopped to take in the sight of the stately wildlife. “It was like a bear sighting in Yellowstone,” said Merritt – a native of Afton, Wyo., near the national park. Moose were transplanted to Southwest Colorado about 20 years ago, say wildlife officials. They are sometimes seen around Silverton, and generally inhabit creek bottoms with thick willows. Wildlife officials caution people to keep a good distance from the enormous animals, which can be aggressive. For more information about living with moose, visit www.cpw.state.co.us/learn/Pages/LivingwithWildlifeMoose.aspx.
