I know, considering where I've been the last five years, it's hard to believe, but I just returned from encountering my first wild animals in the wild, face to face. It was amazing. I was on a walk that I've taken dozens of times, winding along the Nenana River. The circuit is about a mile and a half and is my "fallback" walk on those days I don't take a "real" walk. I had just arrived at the beach at a bend in the river and became aware of a presence. I looked off to my right and into the eyes of a large female moose with her baby. They were probably 30 yards away, eating their way toward me. I sat on the beach, keeping totally still, for about 45 minutes as they slowly approached. I was trying hard to remember how to react safely to moose as they chewed their way to within 15 yards of me.
Just as I was thinking I should perhaps get out of there, a raft full of people came by, shutters clicking madly away. The moose and I quickly melded into the taiga...the moose more quickly than I, in my fuscia shirt. And...of course, I didn't have my camera. But the memory will be indelible. Another reminder that zoo animals don't even look like the same species. Animals in the wild are healthy and stong and magnificent...or dead! Zoo animals are like people...kept alive at all cost and looking it!
Comments