One of the most astonishing creatures you may encounter in the Rocky Mountains is the Moose. The average moose stands 6-7 feet high at the shoulder and weighs from 600-800 lbs for a female and up to 1,500 lbs. for a male. Their antlers regrow each spring and take three to five months to fully develop, which is an amazing rate of growth considering they have a 6 ft. antler span. There are signs posted in the area surrounding Grand Lake, Colorado which indicate there are moose in the area, but unless you are in the right place at the right time, you can go years between sightings. If you are in Jackson County in North Park, your chances are better than average. The breeding pairs that were introduced to Colorado back in 1978 from Wyoming produced a population of more than 1,000. Because conservationist are interested in continuing to protect and preserve the Colorado moose population, they took on a relocation project at the end of January.

The Colorado Division of Wildlife moved 20 Colorado moose to Rio Blanco County in northwest Colorado along the Utah state line. The Jackson County herd is sufficiently strong, so in an effort to diversify the population they took some of the North Park moose to join 24 other moose from Utah to build a new herd. Physically moving these huge animals is quite a task, and it requires the animal be sedated, blindfolded and immobilized and then flown by helicopter to waiting horse trailers. The individual moose that were relocated were identified by GPS coordinates, and captured quickly and carefully with a net gun from a helicopter. After receiving sedation, they are carefully airlifted to the desired location. “We consider North Park to be Colorado’s moose savings account,” said Colorado Division of Wildlife spokesman Randy Hampton. “Along with bighorn sheep, they are the wildlife people most want to see.” Only one moose was lost in the operation while being airlifted.  “It’s rare, and we hate to lose one,” Hampton said. “But we know that whenever we put hands on animals, we could lose 5 to 10 percent of them. We weigh the risks and feel that the benefits to Colorado are worth the risk.”

Where you can find Colorado Moose