Although we have not reached October, which I personally think of as being the period of the prime moose rut, my local moose appear to think otherwise! Last night, three trailcams I have deep in the Superior National Forest recorded both a huge bull moose, and a cow. At times the moose were only inches from my cameras making visuals impossible. However, the close proximity made hearing the moose very easy. Pay attention … you will hear both the cow and bull in the various videos.

Here is a screenshot from Google Maps which gives you an idea of camera positioning. As noted each camera is within 400 yards of the subsequent camera. I have noted in this blog post’s text if the relevant video snippet includes moose sounds. However, I thought it was worth including all the videos that were recorded over the wee hours of the morning on September 19th from 12:23 am to 1:32 am … regardless of the amount of sound. Each video is 30 seconds in length.

Even non blog subscribers may wish to note the short comments about the sounds one may hear in each video … next to blog subscriber links.

Trailcam #2

• Video link 1 for blog email subscribers
  • Just breathing sounds
• Video link 2 for blog email subscribers
  • Cow makes sounds starting at 18 seconds
• Video link 3 for blog email subscribers
  • Bull makes sounds starting at 4 seconds
  • Other sounds may be from the cow, but she can not be seen
• Video link 4 for blog email subscribers
  • Just breathing sounds
  • Bull’s beard is within inches of the camera

Trailcam #3

• Video link 5 for blog email subscribers
  • Bull walking through the bog … water sounds

Trailcam #2

• Video link 6 for blog email subscribers
  • Isolated grunts from the bull
• Video link 7 for blog email subscribers
  • Isolated grunts from the bull
• Video link 8 for blog email subscribers
  • Isolated grunts from the bull

Trailcam #1

• Video link 9 for blog email subscribers
  • Silence … bull walking through bog
• Video link 10 for blog email subscribers
  • Mostly silent … some breathing sounds from the bull

For me, this sequence of videos which took place over one hour are amazing. The locations of the trailcams represent years of my learning about forest habitat, and specifically two years of my learning this particular area of the Superior National Forest.  The exact location of each camera is not “dumb luck”. I have been observing the wildlife in this region for a long time, and hiking various trails, including game trails, while paying attention to signs of wildlife. Since June I have seen eight moose with my own eyes, not just via trailcams.