Another "Retire in CO" thread... (Montrose, Estes Park: neighborhoods, closing)

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

Note: Moose are huge in size and very aggressive animals; they need to be viewed safely.

A fully-grown bull moose can weigh upwards of 1200lbs, and they pose an extreme danger to dogs because they can't distinguish between Fido and a gray wolf. An off-leash dog was stomped to death by a moose in Summit County last fall, and a woman with a leashed dog was trampled by a cow moose in Glenwood Springs last summer.

Here's video of an idiot who got too close to a moose that was munching on grass behind an evergreen tree last summer.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1pq3kO0yKs

[pikabike]

Moose also are dangerous to automobiles, and vice versa. A young friend of a coworker hit one in the North Park area. The driver stayed in a coma a long time. I don’t know if he came out of it or the plug got pulled.

The moose probably got euthanized, too.

[Mike from back east]

Big critters need to be given a wide berth.


Speaking of Moose, here's a pic of a couple who wanted a close up of one, then had to beat a hasty retreat. Run Doofus Run!

[BarryK123]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

Note: Moose are huge in size and very aggressive animals; they need to be viewed safely.

See attached photo. This is as close as I was willing to get to momma moose and child from a bicycle on the Anchorage coastal trail (just past the fork in the trail).

[StealthRabbit]

Tough to equal the vast wildlife exposure, proximity, and numbers near Estes Park area +/- within Colorado. (Tetons and Yellowstone have more wildlife diversity, but more space too). You will be viewing wildlife with binoculars in most of Colorado.

National Park + city + few hunters (available space for hunting). Long time EP friends always get their elk quota (early in season)! I have seen over 20 elk at the hospital (Front lawn)

There are also moose on the east side of park. I have a pic of one at (in) Sprague Lake. That is very close to YMCA and EP, so they are probably there too. there is a very nice 'copyright' pic of moose in Sprague Lake here
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Sp...042337!9m1!1b1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprague_Lake_(Colorado)

https://www.estesparknews.com/video/...010d5e446.html

[EricBabula]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

A fully-grown bull moose can weigh upwards of 1200lbs, and they pose an extreme danger to dogs because they can't distinguish between Fido and a gray wolf. An off-leash dog was stomped to death by a moose in Summit County last fall, and a woman with a leashed dog was trampled by a cow moose in Glenwood Springs last summer.

Here's video of an idiot who got too close to a moose that was munching on grass behind an evergreen tree last summer.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1pq3kO0yKs

Nope - no messing with Moose! I believe I read somewhere, long ago, that more people are mauled and killed each year by moose than by bear. We've always kept our distance.

Grizzly bears, OTOH, nothing like being 20' away from one of those guys!!! Man, I wish i could find those pics! I think that was before we had digital - the pics are somewhere. Yes, we actually came across a full-grown grizzly (Glacier Nat'l Park, MT, Iceberg Lake Trail) just 20' off the trail from us!!! It was AWESOME!!!

So, does anyone have stories of great wildlife sightings similar to what you can find in/near Estes Park/RMNP, in other areas of CO? Herds of elk? Mule Deer? Bear? Moose? Bighorn sheep? Mountain goats? Marmot? Pikas? Ptarmigan? Others?

[EricBabula]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

Tough to equal the vast wildlife exposure, proximity, and numbers near Estes Park area +/- within Colorado. (Tetons and Yellowstone have more wildlife diversity, but more space too). You will be viewing wildlife with binoculars in most of Colorado.

National Park + city + few hunters (available space for hunting). Long time EP friends always get their elk quota (early in season)! I have seen over 20 elk at the hospital (Front lawn)

There are also moose on the east side of park. I have a pic of one at (in) Sprague Lake. That is very close to YMCA and EP, so they are probably there too. there is a very nice 'copyright' pic of moose in Sprague Lake here
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Sp...042337!9m1!1b1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprague_Lake_(Colorado)

https://www.estesparknews.com/video/...010d5e446.html

Yup, we've seen moose at Sprague Lake also. And, a herd of elk walking right through the lake! That was this fall - we went there on our last morning, hoping to see a moose, and this herd of elk walked thru the lake, and to the parking lot!

We also saw moose (as well as tons of elk) at Sheep Lakes in RMNP.

Both of the past two years, we went in Sept, to see/hear the elk rut. Very cool experience. During this time, you hear them all day and well into the night, all over the campgrounds, RMNP, and even in among the houses in Estes Park!

Anything even remotely like that in other areas of CO?

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Originally Posted by EricBabula

Nope - no messing with Moose! I believe I read somewhere, long ago, that more people are mauled and killed each year by moose than by bear. We've always kept our distance.

Grizzly bears, OTOH, nothing like being 20' away from one of those guys!!! Man, I wish i could find those pics! I think that was before we had digital - the pics are somewhere. Yes, we actually came across a full-grown grizzly (Glacier Nat'l Park, MT, Iceberg Lake Trail) just 20' off the trail from us!!! It was AWESOME!!!

So, does anyone have stories of great wildlife sightings similar to what you can find in/near Estes Park/RMNP, in other areas of CO? Herds of elk? Mule Deer? Bear? Moose? Bighorn sheep? Mountain goats? Marmot? Pikas? Ptarmigan? Others?

We see herds of elk regularly wandering around the Buena Vista area. Deer come visit our garden all the time and bed down in our yard during the day. Used to have herds of antelope, although haven't seen them much lately. Bears wander through town and go through peoples garbage all the time (stupid people!). We used to have a fox in our neighborhood. We see mountain goats, pikas, marmots when hiking in the mountains.

Unfortunately the area is undergoing major growth right now, which means the animals will be driven out and will be harder to see.

[EricBabula]

Originally Posted by Dreaming of Hawaii

We see herds of elk regularly wandering around the Buena Vista area. Deer come visit our garden all the time and bed down in our yard during the day. Used to have herds of antelope, although haven't seen them much lately. Bears wander through town and go through peoples garbage all the time (stupid people!). We used to have a fox in our neighborhood. We see mountain goats, pikas, marmots when hiking in the mountains.

Unfortunately the area is undergoing major growth right now, which means the animals will be driven out and will be harder to see.

That's too bad about the animals being driven out! Buena Vista is pretty high on our list of towns to check out more seriously for our eventual retirement home. We need wildlife, and some sense of peace and quiet.

[beezle1]

Originally Posted by EricBabula

So, does anyone have stories of great wildlife sightings similar to what you can find in/near Estes Park/RMNP, in other areas of CO? Herds of elk? Mule Deer? Bear? Moose? Bighorn sheep? Mountain goats? Marmot? Pikas? Ptarmigan? Others?

So I live in Black Forest, up on the top of the Palmer Divide in a wooded area. We have tons of deer, pronghorns, and once in a while elk come through. Every now and then there is a moose spotted though I have not seen it. Same with bears. We also have porcupines, coyotes, fox, mountain lions, bobcats, raccoons, and squirrels and birds of all sorts. There are even beaver around the Monument area.