Moose skeleton treasure

My hiking buddies know I love a good pile of scat and a discovered skeleton.

The other day, I got an excited call from one. She had found a complete moose skeleton on a trail recently logged.

It had been a long day with a horseback riding clinic taught in the morning and a catchup on much needed errands, but I was determined to check it out.

I normally like to head into the woods in the morning, but no mornings were to be soon available. Well, no time at all, really, was available except this late afternoon.

At least someone would be up for an early evening treck into the woods.

With tired legs, I loaded my Rolly and my muckbuckets in the back of the truck, piled the dogs in the back seat, and headed out.

My friends directions were spot on. There, where she described lay a bleached skeleton.

I debated bringing her all back, for a she she was, but opted for a few bits to honour her.

What had transpired here, out in the woods? At first,my thought was that the tree above her skeleton had pinned her to the ground.

With that in mind, I proceeded to take photos, looking for any signs of hair or scratches.

In my attempt to piece together her final hours, I carefully wandered around her final resting place. What I found was:

A great deal of hair in a concentrated area directly to the south of where her intact skeleton lay.

Piles of scat, not overly old, that looked to be moose and bear. Could it be that she had died and then been dragged under the tree?

It was odd that the skeleton had not been pulled apart by coyotes or voraciously chewed by rodents. It was amazingly intact.

I left her hooves, surprised that even they were still there. Past experience gives knowledge that they can be quite odorific.

Picking and choosing, I tiredly loaded bits and pieces into my muck bucket and carried it up the hill to meet with my rolly and bump our way home.

I left, hoping she died of old age, as I have been tracking moose in this area for quite a few years. This winter, I shall go back, if we get snow, and see if her progeny still wanders through here.

There has been a great deal of logging in the area, but it seems to have been done in a conscientious way and might even make for better habitat.

And so she starts a new career. Part of her will travel up Pack Monadnock to show to interested children and adults. This winter, she will join me at my Fish and Game lectures.

Any thoughts on what might have happened? And, she needs a name! Let me know in the comments your ideas. And please, like and subscribe.