Residents of the Bella Coola Valley are enjoying a repeat visit from a very special tourist this fall.
Nicknamed 鈥淐owboy,鈥� a young bull moose seems to have taken up residence with a herd of cows just west of the Tweedsmuir Provincial Park boundary.
鈥淗e鈥檚 the talk of the town,鈥� wildlife photographer Michael Wigle said Thursday of the moose he captured images of the day before. 鈥淎 lot of people stop and look at him.鈥�
Wigle was heading to the Atnarko River with his camera gear to take pictures of grizzly bears gathering to feast on the pink salmon run when he first saw the moose bedded down with the cattle.
鈥淚 had to do a triple-take,鈥� Wigle said, noting the same thing happened last year.
鈥淗e must be the same guy. What other bull moose would come into the valley and spend September and October with a herd of cows?鈥�
Wigle said it鈥檚 very rare to see a moose in the valley, and that they usually live on the Chilcotin plateau.
The irony that the moose appeared at the start of hunting season, in an area restricted from hunting, isn鈥檛 lost on residents.
鈥淗e seems pretty protected,鈥� Wigle said, laughing. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if he knows that though.鈥�
Wigle said he thinks it鈥檚 a win-win situation for all the animals: The moose gets protection from hunters while the cows get extra muscle to deal with area wolves, one of which Wigle saw just down the road from the moose.
As a photographer, Wigle is used to being patient to 鈥済et the shot,鈥� so to literally drive up to the bull moose and be able to watch him at length was quite a treat, he said.
鈥淵ou spend hours setting up shots, waiting for just the right moment and then all of the sudden with this you get 10 minutes of glory. It made my day.鈥�
