Swept Away

I recently returned from a month in Yellowstone. Had a great time, as usual. The last two weeks of the trip were taken up by two tours, and we were fortunate to have loads of cool sightings. One of the most dramatic involved this moose family.

I had visited this cow and calf the day after the youngster was born on an island in the middle of the Shoshone River outside of the park's east entrance. In the following days, temperatures rose dramatically, melting snow at higher elevations and leading to a noticeable rise in water levels. The island began to flood, and it did not take long for mom to try and get off the island. The problem was that the young calf was not yet capable of crossing what had transformed into a raging river.

Our group arrived late on this particular morning, about a week after the birth, in time to witness the latest crossing attempt. The cow slowly waded out into the river and the calf dutifully followed. About two thirds of the way across, the baby lost its footing and was grabbed by the current (pictured here). The calf was swept down the river, which curved around closer to our vantage point along the highway. We could hear its bleating the whole time as it floated by. Mom, meanwhile, had reached the far shore and ran along the bank to catch up while calling back to her offspring.

The calf was carried maybe 50-75 meters before it finally regained purchase, and was able to shakily wade back to the island. Mom crossed and rejoined the youngster. Another day, another failed attempt. But the baby lived to try another day. Two days later, they finally made it across.

Canon 1D Mark IV
Canon 500mm f/4
ISO 400
1/1000th
f/8

Max