Residents of Red Lodge, Montana, were amused Monday to watch as a moose shared an intimate moment with an inanimate object.
A young male moose tried his luck and found a receptive partner for his raging hormones. The only problem was that the other moose was a life-sized wooden sculpture of a male moose outside the Roosevelt Center.
Kevin and Joan Owens were among the crowd who stopped to witness the bizarre encounter.
They couldn’t resist pulling out their cameras to catch the mating moose in action, and their photos and video of the rutting Red Lodge moose mating have since gone viral on social media.
“It's always somebody's first time, and this guy learned,” Kevin told Cowboy State Daily. “I’m sure he woke up with splinters.”
Mounting Moose
The Owens were coming into Red Lodge on Monday morning when they passed the Roosevelt Center alongside U.S. Highway 212. They expected to see the life-size moose sculpture, which has stood there since 2020, but were surprised to find the moose had company.
“There's a lot of wildlife in Red Lodge, but moose are rare,” Joan said. “Seeing this moose was a real treat for us.”
The real moose, a young male, was inspecting the wooden moose very closely. It was obvious that there was a spark between the two, even if it was completely one-sided.
“He was sniffing the bottom and laying his head on the rump of the sculpture,” Joan said. “This went on for quite some time.”
After an appropriate amount of foreplay, or at least as much as an immature male moose would deem appropriate, he made his move. The Owens and several other Red Lodge residents watched as moose mounted moose, and futility commenced the act of making more moose.
“He was mounting that baby pretty hard,” Kevin said. “It caused quite a traffic jam.”
Statuesque
The moose was the first sculpture installed in the outdoor sculpture garden at the Roosevelt Center. Created by Red Lodge artisan Lee Kern, the life-size moose is made entirely out of pieces of fallen Rocky Mountain juniper.
Kern’s moose was installed outside the Roosevelt Center in 2020.
Male moose can spend several days mating with the same female once they’ve successfully completed the multi-day display stage of their mating rituals. This immature male spent the morning copulating before capitulating and moving on.
According to the National Park Service, male moose will size each other up with intense displays that include behaviors like pawing the ground, thrashing their antlers against shrubs, and displaying the size and strength of their bodies and antlers.
When that fails, they resort to violent clashes that can result in injury or death.
Judging by the size of this moose's antlers, it’s clear this male is inexperienced and feeling himself out.
Any other male moose might have tried intimidating or tussling with the wooden moose, although they’d also probably be able to determine it wasn’t a real moose without much difficulty.
Wyoming wildlife photographer Jorn Vangoidtsenhoven has observed moose in the Grand Teton area for many years. He thought Joan's photo of the amorous moose in Red Lodge was "hilarious."
"I can't say I've ever seen a bull moose do that to a sculpture," he said. "They normally smell the private parts of the cow moose to make sure she's ready for mating.
"Unless someone applied synthetic cow estrous to that statue, I have no idea what he was thinking."
Safe Sex
Even when they’re this inexperienced, male moose are dangerous and shouldn’t be approached during the rut. The best thing to do is give them a wide berth and, if worst comes to worst, take shelter in a vehicle or behind a rock or tree.
This moose didn’t seem perturbed by the amused voyeurism of Red Lodge residents as it made its move on the wooden moose. He’s hoping he has better luck in the future.
“You always remember your first time,” Joan said. “It was hilarious.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
