The refuge staff pulled the bloated bulls out of the river. The hides couldn’t be salvaged, but the heads will be made into European mounts and displayed in a fighting stance in the refuge’s visitor center. <em>Photograph courtesy of Calvin Hazlewood</em>
The refuge staff pulled the bloated bulls out of the river. The hides couldn’t be salvaged, but the heads will be made into European mounts and displayed in a fighting stance in the refuge’s visitor center. Photograph courtesy of Calvin Hazlewood.
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In October, a fisherman found two dead bull moose entangled—likely from battling during the rut—on a remote stretch of the Green River in Wyoming’s Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge. “When evenly matched bulls like this fight, I’m amazed they don’t kill each other every time,” says Tom Koerner, manager of the refuge. “It’s pretty violent. They’re shoving back and forth with daggers pointing at each other.” Photograph courtesy of Calvin Hazlewood
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The bulls were not the biggest in the Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge, but they were decent-size and evenly matched. It appears that the tine of one moose went through the neck of the other, and although their antlers were not locked together, the two animals couldn’t untangle themselves fast enough to prevent their drowning. “It was a violent battle, but it’s hard to know for sure what happened,” Koerner says. “We think the one bled to death, and when he collapsed, it bound up the other. If he could have figured out that he could roll over, he could have been free, but he didn’t.” Photograph courtesy of Calvin Hazlewood
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Thirty-six miles of the Green River run through the Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge, which, founded in 1965, protects more than 27,000 acres of public land in southwestern Wyoming. The waterway ribbons through dry desert, attracting big game, such as moose, to its banks. Photograph courtesy of Tom Koerner
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Pronghorn and mule deer are common in the refuge, but moose, with only about 30 on the property, are harder to come by. “The refuge really stands out as a narrow band of green,” Koerner says. “Most people are surprised to learn we have moose out here, because it doesn’t really jump out as moose habitat in the high desert.” Photograph courtesy of Tom Koerner
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The refuge hosts about one moose per mile of river. During the rut, bull moose move up and down the river corridor looking for cows and fighting with one another. Hunting is allowed on the refuge during this time—from October 1 to 31—but only five tags, usually for antlerless moose, are issued each year for the refuge’s unit. Photograph courtesy of Tom Koerner
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The refuge staff pulled the bloated bulls out of the river. The hides couldn’t be salvaged, but the heads will be made into European mounts and displayed in a fighting stance in the refuge’s visitor center. Photograph courtesy of Calvin Hazlewood

In October, a fisherman found two dead bull moose entangled—likely a result from a battle during the rut—on a remote stretch of the Green River in Wyoming’s Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge.