Mali, the new Cover Girl

Thank you to Lauren Dixon for a great article on utilizing LGD to prevent predation.

To read the whole article, you can go the link here:
The Rise Of Livestock Guardian Dogs

Lots of moose and a few coyotes

This past week I have been bumping into about 16 moose everyday.
Usually together on a large field.

I have tried snapping a few pictures with my cell phone but that does not do them justice.

As soon as you stop the moose head directly for the bush so, pretty hard to snap a picture of them.

On the road home

that black speck on the road is another moose.

So, this morning I decided to head out and see if I could find them.

I did, however most were just cow-calf pairs scattered around, not in a large group together.

Moose do not "herd or flock", they are solitary animals. It is actually quite unique to see such a large group congregating together.

Only the cows and their babies remain together as a pair.

Seeing all these cow/calf pairs together makes me happy.

Unfortunately not quite the photo's I was hoping for, but on a grey, early morning it is the best I could get.

I will try and few more times this week to get a group shot.. try and try..

My total moose number this morning was 12,

at home I came across these 3..

and a few hundred feet further, this one.

Making my morning tally, after 30 mins of driving around and less then 2 miles from home,

12 moose and 4 coyotes.

Momma moose showdown

Moose are pretty much solitary animals,

they do not flock, herd or band together.
The momma moose have their babies at their sides and breeding is a fleeting thing.
Mostly moose spend their time alone.

Last summer we seeded a field with some oats, the oats came up a bit patchy so we decided that to cut it would cost more in fuel than it would deliver in feed value.
So, we just let the pasture be and hoe that what we under seeded will come up next spring.
Well, the moose have found this patch of oats and are congregating here for a feed before the hard months of winter set in.

It is mostly momma moose that are here grazing with their 2015 babies.
I have seen up to 10 moose here on this field.
Last week I even watched a showdown between two moose, who still diligently guard their personal space.

The photo's are not great but does give an idea of what a momma moose showdown looks like.

So, let us meet some of the players:

Nervous young moose, he left when I stopped to look.

Moose who does not get involved.
A background player.

Young sleek momma moose who is a key player in the showdown.

Older momma moose, she is in a bad mood.

This baby  is the instigator of the trouble.

All quiet and calm.
 Each moose has their own bubble.

Happily nibbling away at the oats.

The lay of the land.

So, it all starts when young momma and baby decide to move into the bubble of older momma moose.
She does not appreciate this invasion of her space.
She tells the younger pair this.
When a moose is mad, they pin their ears back.
Like this:

Young mom and babe, continue in her direction, despite the clear warning, elongated neck and ears pulled back.

Go away

Babies, being babies, are curious, so while younger mom bends off somewhat, baby decides to go over to grumpy moose.

She gets grumpier.

and, still baby keeps going towards her, putting her  mom now into a difficult situation,  as she needs to stay with and look after her baby, who is not heeding the older moose's warning.

So, she starts threatening back,
and is giving the traditional, threat by pulling her ears back.

Baby hesitates..

Grumpy momma, turns her head away to try and diffuse the situation,

young momma perks up somewhat.

and, naughty baby, moves forward again.
The posturing starts up again.

A stare down takes place, baby is having second thoughts.

She tries to get out from between the two moose.

The dirty looks, are like daggers to each other.

The showdown escalates.

The battle of the wills.
Baby is out of the way and does not seem overly concerned that she just started a mini moose war.

Front leg raised, head elevated, hackles raised,
who is more dominant?

Both moms glance away, this may cool things down.

Nope, no one backs down.

Younger mom, cools down a touch.

Both really want to avoid this showdown.

Younger mom backs down and carefully ambles away.
The situation is under control.

Baby  tries to take a step closer, grumpy decides enough is enough and puts a small charge on baby,
who just about trips over herself to get out of the way.

Grumpy mom feels more comfortable now that she has her space again.

Young mom and bay, are a little wiser, and head back into the bush.

Hope your Friday the 13th, ends as well as this showdown did!

Do NOT STEAL my images or my written work, please

DO NOT STEAL THIS IMAGE!!

Unfortunately, I have needed to write a blog about this topic.
Some time back I found an image of one of my dogs on a different "breed"  Facebook page, claiming my dog was their breed.
That image was stolen, and used without permission.
Then, some slimebag, stole another image of mine to use on the front of his crappy e-Book without permission.
I informed Amazon, and they removed it, and sent a cease and desist letter to the person.
 It seems that many people think just because it is on Facebook, they can freely use them.
"Sharing" posts is not what I am referring to here.
Stealing images, to use on your own blog, or  using my writings, without prior permission is the problem.

There seems to be a lot of misunderstandings about the use of these images, many thinking that it is okay to pick an image off social media and just use it,
or believing that once it is "out there" in social media land,  it is free to use however and whenever.

I would like to take a moment to clarify this,as I hate seeing my images used illegally, inappropriately and of course without my permission or correct attribution.

So, here is some basic information regarding the use of my writing or photographic images.

Copyright is a federal law.

The law states that the minute I write it, the moment I draw it, the second I make the picture, the moment I express it dramatically or musically,  I own the copyright.
It is mine.
 I do not need to water mark it in any way, for the copyright to be in place,
although I do try to, as a reminder to anyone wanting to use it.
Without watermark it is still legally my image and my writings.

If I place my image on FB, or instagram or anywhere, it does not mean that I have lost my rights to the photo or story, I still own the copyright.
Many people believe that if you place it on Facebook, you lose the rights to it.

That is not the case.
 Actually, Facebook monitors this and will remove, if someone infringes on your copyright rights. Facebook is not exempt from federal law.

In no way, or form may you use it without my express permission,
and if I do give you permission, you have to give correct attribution for the use of it.
You may not transform or change the image in any way, no cropping out my water mark, photoshopping etc.

Using an image from someone else without permission is in essence "STEALING" it.
That means, I can sue you.

As attorney Sara Hawkins says " You’ve heard the adage that a picture is worth a thousand words, but when that picture is protected by copyright, the picture is only worth three words: cease and desist."

However,  you may be surprised,
if you would ask me,
and I believe that the image or writing,  will be used in a good way,
I will mostly likely allow you to use an image of mine  providing you use correct attribution.
The same applies to text, quotes and any of my writings.

I love sharing my pictures and my experiences, so am always open for good use.


To read more:
http://blog.kenkaminesky.com/photography-copyright-and-the-law/

Google images