Encounter: Looking up the Moose’s nose

Someone once told not to look a gift horse in the mouth checked the dental signature of a Moose instead and discovered 12 molars, 12 premolars, 6 incisors and 2 canines. Oh dear, a moose is actually a deer, as Ogden Nash evidently knew! Confronted by a mouse or moose, You turn green, she turns chartroose. – OGDEN NASH From “GOOD-BY NOW OR PARDON MY GAUNTLET” My first encounter with the Moose (Alces alces) was in the Rockies in Colorado. It was mid-September and Fall was round the bend. We chanced upon a bull while driving through the Rocky Mountain … Continue reading Encounter: Looking up the Moose’s nose

A ramble through Alaska

Moose, elk, grizzlies and caribou are on Anand Yegnaswami‘s mind as he recalls a trip to Alaska’s Denali National Park Alaska was a part of Russia until 1867 when US Secretary of State William H Seward played a key role in purchasing it for $7.2 million. It is believed that the Russians were keen on the sale as having the Americans in their backyard would be a deterrent against the English. Most Americans felt that it was foolish to buy this barren patch of land and mockingly referred to the deal as “Seward’s Folly”. Mr Seward it appears was a … Continue reading A ramble through Alaska

Encounter: The Malaysian Moon Moth

Bright yellow, almost 12 inches long and half a foot across, it seemed almost artificial among the bright green leaves where I found it. I wondered first if it was a life-like miniature kite that was stuck in the leaves. I called out to the Green Ogres and exclaimed “Butterfly!” and got a curt rap on the knuckles. “Moth!” Well, most of the moths I had come across hardly had the vivid patterns I was looking at, so I knew this one was special. We were looking at the Malaysian Moon Moth (Actias maenas) Continue reading Encounter: The Malaysian Moon Moth