Tuesday, March 06, 2007

MacDermott Moose #3


MacDermott waiting to be unloaded, Carson and Barnes, 1988
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Posted by Buckles at 3/06/2007 06:36:00 AM

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

How can anything so ugly be so very beautyful. Makes you want to just hug him. I haven't seen a sweeter face.

08 March, 2007 17:23
Anonymous said...

Fortunately Rebecca, I had the opportunity to do just that- this guy had no shortage of hugs during his lifetime! He'd respond by resting his chin on my shoulder. What a sweetheart he was.

The hair on a moose's face grows upward, rather than down like that of a horse. It took some getting used to, petting his face in the right direction. There is a small upside-down triangle of skin at the bottom of their top lip; when I'd tickle it, he'd move his mouth like Mr. Ed!

08 March, 2007 21:50
Anonymous said...

In Dimond Center, in Anchorage, they display a stuffed mature bull moose they swear is the real thing. Someone correct me here, but this guy must have stood ten feet at the shoulder. I did not get to see one in the wilderness, but was amazed at the size. I had figured they were closer in dimensions to the elk, but not this guy, who did not compare to the charm of MacDermott.

09 March, 2007 17:53
Anonymous said...

Richard Reynolds says - -

I do not know how a full grown bull moose could be transported by an old time railroad show. They are way too big for a cage wagon. The males can easily stand 7 ft. at the shoulder with the head above that. No other mammal is so tall except elephants and giraffes.

A giraffe-type van might work. However, the spread of the antlers in a full grown male (like in that doctored photo recently circulated) would seem to stretch from side to side inside the usual giraffe wagons so that the head could hardly be turned.

Of course they could have been transported as led stock inside railroad stock cars but that seems too too risky for an animal so sensitive to the captive condition. I cannot imagine leading one over the tracks and through a debris strewn rail yard and then over city streets to the lot, sometimes up to several miles away.

In a recent moose comment Paul Gutheil said he had never seen them at the Bronx zoo and that curators there said they were too hard to maintain. Yet, the very first moose I ever saw, (2 of them) were in the Bronx zoo in August 1947. They were in a wooded section near the old polar bear dens. As I recall this area is in the general direction of the new bird house.

09 March, 2007 23:17
Anonymous said...

1600 lbs and 7 ft. at the withers for an Alaskan moose. The further south, the smaller they get.
(You're right Roger, MacDermott was a charmer. A dear deer!)
Mr. Reynolds, you brought up a good point. It would have been terribly difficult to carry them on the old shows. I have my doubts if there was ever an adult bull on a show. Young ones, yes. As you pointed out, if they could carry elephants and giraffe, a moose is possible. However: the antlers are a problem. Growth starts in late winter, and continues until rut late in the year. Then the antlers drop. But the hard part is during the growth period when they're in velvet. The antlers are very delicate during this time, and bleed badly if damaged. Then when the growth is complete, the weeks while they're rubbing off the velvet leaves bloody strips hanging all over the antlers. They would not have been suitable for display during this time, and great care must be taken for the many months in velvet. It would have been tricky business. Both back then, and now.

10 March, 2007 01:27
Anonymous said...

Patricia, I am so amazed at your knowledge of the animals you work with. It doesn't seem like work but an act of love. You remind me more and more of "ELOISE". I am often told that some can not understand how I keep all my animals/property so clean and healthy and happy. They have a hard time keeping up with one animal. I have never thought of it as work. If it becomes work it is time to get out of the business. Your love for your animals shows. I am so proud of you and look forward to reading your comments. There are so few of the real animal people out there.

10 March, 2007 08:36
Anonymous said...

That's the nicest thing anyone could ever say to me (or about me!), Rebecca. I can't tell you the countless times when the cats have worked well, or some critter gives me a quiet nuzzle in the backyard when nobody's around- I smile to myself and say "I must be the luckiest person in the world."

Some people spend their lives hoping to win the lottery, and of course I wish I had more money too. But with this lifestyle and occupation I've chosen, I feel I've already hit the jackpot. The animals give me a reason to wake up in the morning. There's something new to be learned everyday. My life without animals would be sickeningly empty.

The animal rights activists just don't get it.

10 March, 2007 16:51
Anonymous said...

I'd also like to add that I'm not unique or alone in feeling this way about my animals. All the good dedicated animal people I've know through the years express similar sentiments toward their cats, elephants, horses or other creatures.

I'm just more gooey and vocal about it than some.

11 March, 2007 18:26
Anonymous said...

Gooey!!!! I lov that. Patricia I do grief counceling for people who have lost their pets. I cry just as much as they do. It may sound hard to believe but the men take the loss just as much or harder then the woman. These are the mocho men. In my eyes it makes them so human and careing. I have seen the biggest, roughest men wear sunglasses because of the tears flowing behind them. I have met a few males that I would not be seen with in public or private break down over the loss of their pets. This changed my whole outlook about them. Animals keep humans, human. One burlly truck driver drops a couple of bags of dog and cat food over the fence as he passes on his route to the steel mill. He does not know I see him. He lost a very tiny pet to cancer. He must weigh 300 pounds.

11 March, 2007 22:45

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