Colorado Rockies: Moose, poison oak?

[John Brown]

Went for a great hike outside Denver yesterday. Two questions:

1) Is this poison oak? Leaves were about 1 inch long. Sure hope not.

2) Saw a moose. Are these native to Colorado? Is it possible this one was being farmed/ranched?

Regards!

[Anonymous]

"1) Is this poison oak? Leaves were about 1 inch long. Sure hope not."

Hi John,

You can relax; That's definitely not poison oak. Poison oak leaves look almost exactly like regular oak leaves on a bush that can be anywhere from 1-3' high. Also, the leaves are sort of glossy.

[Dondo .]

We've had moose in Colorado for the past thirty years. They were introduced in North Park and did so well that some were transplanted to the Lake City area. More recently, they've been introduced to Grand Mesa. A few years ago I had a run in with a moose near Monarch Lake, so I tend to give them a wide berth this time of year. Where did you see your moose?

[John Brown]

We were on the Burning Bear Creek Trail, near the 285 and the town of Grant…

[Dondo .]

Cool! I've never seen moose in that area before. Sounds like they are doing well.

[Mary D]

The plant is wild strawberry. Very tasty berries in season!

The animal really is a moose. Not native to Colorado, but transplanted. I was really surprised to find this out when I went back for a visit last year. However, it appears that moose are generally moving south on their own. Out here in the Northwest, there have been quite a few sightings in the Washington Cascades, farther south every year. No doubt some will one day sneak across the Columbia River and make it to Oregon.

[Dean F.]

The moment I saw it I thought the same thing about the plant- wild strawberry. It looks like it is on a runner, not a twig, and the coloration really looks like it to me.

There are other berries that I have trouble telling from strawberry (if the berries aren't present), but that is NOT poison ivy or poison oak.

[Joe Kuster]

As the others have said, yep, we have moose in Colorado. They seem to be making a come back.

I've seen one so far in a marsh in Rocky Mountain National Park and another in the Wilderness Peaks area around a river (definately not an Elk, I found myself in closer proximity than I wanted).

[Todd Forbes]

I saw a Moose (cow) on a winter trip in Rocky Mountain National Park a few years ago – they are massive! I had no idea that they were not native to Colorado. One guy on this board was in the Weimanuche Wilderness Area last week and emailed me that he saw 3 including a mother & calf.

I hear they can have a rather nasty disposition at times and you need to be careful around them.

[Chris Harvey]

I've seen moose in the Rawah Wilderness area, northeast of Walcott and tracks north of Silverthorne in the Eagle's Nest Wilderness. Walden is supposed to be a prime area if you want to see them. We've even had a few wander into Denver area suburbs at times. They will cover a lot of ground in their wanderings but are frequently just passing through. Before they were introduced to Grand Mesa I remember one wandering down by Grand Junction (not very "moosey" country at all) that probably came from Utah. Here is some info from the Colorado DOW:

http://wildlife.state.co.us/WildlifeSpecies/Profiles/Mammals/Moose.htm

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