In search of the elusive LaFramboise moose

If you would have asked me two years ago where to photograph moose in South Dakota I would have said, "Beats me, I don't think you can find one." Last summer a young bull moose was spotted and photographed several times in the southern and central Black Hills. Unfortunately a poacher ended the fun and hasn't been apprehended.

Now people have been seeing a cow moose on LaFramboise Island in the Missouri River between Pierre and Fort Pierre. She's been spotted several times in the last few weeks and photographed at least once. Check out Kevin Woster's outdoor blog at the Rapid City Journal for the picture taken by Dave Pfahler last Saturday.

I spent two hours on the island this morning in search of my own photos of the moose. I was successful at seeing a lot of pheasants, some whitetail deer rumps disappearing into the trees, eagles, hawks, and one set of moose tracks. No moose, though. I'm going to start calling her "Bigfoot" and wonder out loud if it was just a guy in a moose suit.

Here are a LaFramboise Island moose track and a typical deer track for size comparison.


All was not lost photographically, though. This hawk sat around long enough for me to capture his image.


I've heard a lot of speculation about how the moose got on the island in the first place. I don't know where she came from or where she might end up, but I know she could have crossed the Missouri River fairly easily. My friend Scott Howard and I watched this bull swim the Snake River in Wyoming back in 2006. He didn't have much trouble with it at all.

Be careful when photographing wildlife

It's been suggested that I don't tell enough "tales from the road" about the interesting things I've seen and done driving South Dakota's byways. So here's a story from 2008 demonstrating the hazards of wildlife photography.

The setting - Black Hills Playhouse Road in Custer State Park in southwestern South Dakota
The setup - a hen turkey and approximately 10 chicks cross the road in front of my van

Seeing the opportunity for some nice wildlife pictures, I pulled over in a convenient turnout and took my time attaching a longer zoom lens to my camera and making sure I was ready to shoot pictures.

After a few minutes I walked down the road to the spot where I thought the turkeys had crossed the road. I was standing on the road looking for the little ones when momma exploded out of the tall grass directly in front of me. Picture flapping wings and lots of squawking. I was so surprised and stunned that I back-pedaled as fast as I could, losing traction in some loose gravel on the pavement. I fell backwards, banging my elbow and hand on the asphalt, but keeping the camera from hitting the ground. At this point I thought she would be on top of me with those "deadly" claws, but as I rolled back to my feet I saw she was flopping in circles around me. I understood that I had approached her babies too closely without knowing it, so I headed for my van at a sprint. Believe it or not, turkeys can run faster than me! She got between me and the van and continued her flapping, squawking attack. I finally got in the van and she circled it a few more times before heading back to her family.

Breathing hard and with heart pumping in double time, I took this photo through the windshield to remember her by.


For a similar kind of tale, read the end of this earlier post about being charged by a buffalo a few years ago. The turkey incident was actually more scary.

Moral of the story - stay in the vehicle when photographing dangerous animals. It keeps you out of trouble and causes less stress to both the animal and you.

To momma turkey - I'm sorry, my intrusion on your chicks was unintentional. I was only hoping for a nice family portrait.

Fog at the Capitol

I've been shooting a lot of photos inside the Capitol building this week, so thought I'd step outside for sunrise this morning. Of course there wasn't a visible sunrise, so this is what I got instead.

Badlands buffalo fight

Everyone seems to be enjoying the Badlands posts, so I dug back into last spring's shots for a couple of young buffalo bulls fighting. These were shot near the Roberts Prairie Dog Town on the Sage Creek Road west of the Pinnacles entrance station, which is one of the most common places to find bison in Badlands National Park.

Dahl Arts Center photo contest

The Rapid City Arts Council and the Rapid City Journal are partnering once again to inspire photographers to show their best in our annual juried exhibition that is part of the Dahl Mountain Culture Festival at the Dahl Arts Center. Categories are landscape, wildlife, mountain sport or extreme sport photographs.

More information and entry forms are available online and in person at the Dahl Arts Center. Entries will be accepted March 16 - March 27 with the exhibit opening Saturday, April 10 in the Inez & Milton Shaver Gallery.

One hour in Badlands National Park

As long as we are posting about the Badlands, might as well show what it looks like in winter. I was on my way from the Black Hills to Pierre yesterday and had just about an hour to swing through Badlands National Park loop road before sunset. It turned out to be a productive hour.

Ran across several small herds of mule deer relaxing in the late afternoon sun. These were at Bigfoot Pass.


This guy was busily chewing bark off the trees at the Changing Scenes Overlook. I didn't get out of the car, just shot from the window and he barely looked up.


The White River Valley Overlook provided this view of Badlands scenery.


The clouds got really spectacular near the Fossil Exhibit Trail turnout. A polarizing filter made the sky darker and the clouds stand out against it.


As the sun reached the horizon, several spots at Cedar Pass and the Doors and Windows Overlook created great silhouettes.



From there it was on to Interstate 90 in the dark, but with a very satisfying hour behind me.

Badlands Pinnacles on YouTube

For a little different version of my tips on photographing South Dakota, check out a video of me explaining what's great about the Pinnacles area of Badlands National Park on South Dakota Tourism's YouTube Channel.