The RMNP Twins of 2023
They were barely visible, hidden in the red willows
along Big Thompson River
They were barely visible, hidden in the red willows along Big Thompson River near the edge of Moraine Park. That morning of May 29, 2023, the twin moose were beginning their third day of life, and their mother was letting them venture to the river for the first time.
At sunrise in Rocky Mountain National Park before my morning
RMNPhotographer Tour, I stood shoulder-to-shoulder with several photographer friends, our lenses extended, camera’s clicking as the twins emerged from the willows. The river, high from the previous day’s snow melt, was rushing strong as the baby moose moved wobbly legged along the edge.
Mother moose stood and watched as they ventured a few steps into the water. The first one caught in the current, her legs pulled from under her. Falling, she thrashed fighting to keep her nose above water. Mother moose moved into the stream to break the current causing the water to slow and gather around her. It was just enough for her baby to recover, get her feet under her, and struggle back to solid ground on the river’s edge.
For a week, we watched from the roadside, capturing images of the two cinnamon phase babies. The twins began to fill out just a bit, always under the watchful eye of their mother. As they reached one week old, mother moose allowed them to wander from the willows into more open areas. With such freedom, the twins would romp, chasing each other, jumping over fallen trees, stumbling sideways then running strong, returning to their mother where they would nurse together.
Then, on the morning of June 4, our hearts were disappointed as we stood with our cameras at our sides realizing the moose had moved on. Strong enough, mother moose had taken the twins away from the swift running river into the forest. It had been a treasure she had given us, one week of watching her babies from wobbly legged newborns to week old youngsters running and playing among the pines.
One week later on June 11, I was with guests on a
RMNPhotographer Tour taking sunrise photos at Sprague Lake. The morning was bright with the yellow sun peeking over the front range to turn the hints of clouds a reddish hue, and then another gift was given. Standing in the middle of the lake was a moose cow feeding on the submerged grasses. In the sunrise, she was a silhouette as her head lifted, water rained down around her, soft grasses hanging from her mouth.
Then, when the morning brightened, suddenly she turned thrashing through the water toward the opposite edge of Sprague Lake. A couple walking the trail along that side stopped, frozen in place. The cow splashed into the tall grass as two small bodies stood to greet her.
My heart leapt as I said, “The twins.”
With great joy, I described to our RMNPhotographer guests the twin's first week of life, and how, over the past week, they had moved the four miles from Moraine Park to Sprague Lake. Walking along the trail around the lake, we watched them. The twins were fuller, almost thick, looking healthy with their reddish color. As we rounded the lake, we could see mother moose leading them back into the waters for all the feed.
It was another gift, the twins alive and doing well in a wilderness that could sometimes be unforgiving. While I shot their family portraits, as if magic, more of my photographer friends began to arrive. Within a few minutes, I was surrounded by familiar faces all capturing images of the twins. Cameras whirled with a slight clicking sound as we captured the beauty of the moment.
For over an hour, mother moose shared her babies with us. For my
RMNPhotographer guests, it was a special event they would never forget. The moose calves played in the water, mother moose glancing back to watch over them. They danced and ran, nuzzled their noses together, and watched with curiosity at the many people watching them. So precious, so special.
Many visit RMNP in hopes of seeing their first moose. Some are disappointed as there are only about three-hundred in the park. Others might spot the dark body of a bull moose walking along the distant edge of a massive meadow. A lucky few have a “moose experience.” As “moose experiences” go, mother moose and her twins gave us an incredible one.
During the next week, I saw them three more times at Sprague Lake, and two weeks later, I happened upon them twice as I hiked a trail about a half-mile from the lake. Then, as had happened at the end of their first week of life, they disappeared into the forest.
Two months later, they appeared once again. Having been sighted at Lily Lake, they had moved from there back to Sprague Lake. The cuteness of the cinnamon colors had begun to fade and their size had tripled. Nearing mother moose’s dark brown/gray coloring, they had begun to look like miniature adult moose.
So happy to see them, I took a few photos, but mostly I sat and watched. The twins fed on the green summer grasses, waded in the shallow waters of the lake, and wandered further from mother moose, having grown more independent. Periodically, they played in the waters like the teenagers they were only to return to their mother.
The twins were a gift of the summer of 2023. Mother moose let us photograph them. She was a patient yet protective mother. The twins will remain with their mother for one year. If mother moose is pregnant again, she will drive them off in the spring having raised them to independence. If she’s not pregnant, they may stay with her throughout the summer before moving off on their own.
Either way, on our
RMNPhotographer Tours I will be watching for mother moose and her twins, hoping to see them one last time, to photograph them together one more time before the twins move off into the forest as independent moose.
