William H. Wiley
402-875-1809
bill@wmwiley.com
1221 Rockhurst Dr.
Lincoln, NE 68510
In late September this solitary bull moose casually crosses the Snake River to browse near giant cattails. Moose are members of the deer family and their diet is primarily terrestrial and aquatic vegetation. The most common moose predators are the gray wolf along with bears and humans. Bull moose normally weigh between 835 to 1,545 pounds in the Rocky Mountains, whereas the largest confirmed size for the Alaska moose was a bull that weighed 1,808 pounds and measured 7.6 feet high at the shoulder.
Prolific throughout Yellowstone National Park, approximately 5,000 bison meander throughout the expansive landscape of the park year around. Yellowstone is the only place in the United States where bison have lived continuously since prehistoric times. In the 1800s, market hunting, sport hunting and the U.S. Army nearly caused the extinction of the bison, and by 1902 poachers reduced Yellowstone’s small herd to about two dozen animals. Bison are true survivors, fending off attacks by predators and the bitter cold Yellowstone winters.
The Common Loon is the Minnesota state bird. It has a black bill, red eyes and a spotty black and white body with a black/iridescent green head. The common loon has four calls. The tremolo, which sounds like maniacal laughter, is an aggressive call. The wail is a long, drawn-out sound that people mistake for a wolf. The hoot, a shorter call, is used to communicate among parents and young. Male loons make a yodel sound when guarding their territory. Loons can dive as deep as 250 feet to search for food.
