The moose is the largest member of the deer family, and the variety found in Wyoming, the Shiras moose, is a hulking presence in the willow-choked bottoms and forested wetlands where it makes its home. Despite its size, it can be surprisingly difficult to spot.

A bull moose in his prime is an imposing animal, standing taller than a horse at the shoulder and carrying a broad rack of palmate antlers. Yet moose are largely solitary and often quiet, browsing on willows, aquatic plants, and shrubs, and a person can walk within yards of one bedded in the brush without knowing it is there.

That size makes moose genuinely dangerous, particularly cows with calves or bulls during the fall rut. They are responsible for more injuries to people in some regions than bears, and wildlife officials urge anyone who encounters one to give it a wide berth and never come between a cow and her young.

Wyoming's moose populations have faced challenges in places, from habitat changes to parasites, prompting careful monitoring. But the animal remains a treasured sight in the state's high country, and coming upon a great dark bull standing knee-deep in a willow flat, steam rising from his back in the cold, is a moment few who witness it ever forget.