Despite the drop in Northern New Hampshire moose sightings over the past several years, encounters with the huge creatures on the roads are still inevitable. Here are some of my experiences:
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| Moose in my driveway - photo by Linda Lane |
1.) Have you ever talked to a moose? I have! My wife, Linda and I were walking along interstate route 26 in Northern New Hampshire when an infuriated. bellowing cow moose came crashing out of the woods and headed right at us. The ears were back and the hackles were up - not good signs for our welfare. We slowly backed away as I verbally assured the enraged animal, in a clear-but- calm voice, that we meant no harm. It worked! The ears went up - the hackles came down, and the attack (either real or bluff) ceased. We continued our walk.
2.) Moose calls sound a bit like flatulence. It's true, and I have proof. I was sitting on my deck lakeside in Western Maine and having a few bouts of flatulence, with each episode resulting in chiding from my wife. Then came a grunt not produced by me - followed by the expected wife-scolding. A large bull moose in the rut had walked down our driveway and was a mere 20-30 feet behind me. There was little doubt that loud episodes of flatulence had lured the bull moose from the logging road to my location. I have jokingly suggested I may exhibit my "unusual" calling method at the next moose-calling contest.
3.) I have been involved in only one moose/vehicle collision in the north country. During a time when the moose population was at an all-time high, we were driving in total darkness with a heavy fog adding to our lack of visibility. My speed was fairly slow when I saw the moose running across the road right in front of us. I hit the brakes and my truck struck the creature as its hoof dented my plastic front bumper. The moose never lost stride and ran into the woods.
4.) Walking the logging roads close to (what used to be) the Balsams Resort in Dixville Notch, NH - a moose came crashing out of the brush to our left only a couple of yards from us - quickly changed direction - and ran away from us up the road. It happened too rapidly to get scared, but it was a major surprise.
5.) Is there any animal that can be both cute and ugly? If so, that would describe a moose calf. The cow moose that ran across Route 16 alongside the Androscoggin River was followed by two small calves that seemed in a state of panic. Then one of them stumbled and fell to the pavement. But it quickly righted itself and continued after mom. It was not injured.
6.) Unfortunately, many of my encounters involved a dead moose. I was walking alone on Route 26 and I came across a badly-damaged car off the road into a field. The caved-in windshield told me that it must have been a moose/car collision. Moose are big and tall, and a collision with one usually results in the animal crashing through the windshield and "joining" the driver and/or passenger in the front seat. That can prove deadly. There was no one, alive or dead, in the car, and I found the dead moose in the high grass a short distance from the totalled car.
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| Result of a moose/car collision |
7.) During the peak years in the late-90s the moose population in New Hampshire rose significantly. It was during this period that I once spotted 11 young bull moose gathered together in an open space the size of a small house lot. They were not fighting or sparring. They were just hanging out. I have never seen aything approaching that - before or since.
One important tip. If you see a motionless moose on the side of the road, DO NOT ASSUME it will remain statue-like. On the contrary, it will almost invariably bolt right in front of your moving vehicle. I slow down considerably when approaching a moose that looks like it has been standing in that pose for hours.
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