Crashing Antlers

The growing moose population leads to more car crashes

Story by Ariana Cohn
Photo Courtesy of U.S. National Park Service

With legs taller than half the height of a typical sedan and a possible weight range between 700 and 1,000 pounds, the newest cause of recent car crashes came as somewhat of a surprise to residents and visitors of the North Country. These are not mutant deer or oversized raccoons. The Adirondacks are finally being affected by an animal which has roamed New Hampshire and Maine for as long as its existence-the moose.

David Winchell, spokesperson for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, explained that moose have been around Northern New York for longer than people think. “They first started coming back into the Adirondacks in the 1980's,” he said. “Two of the most concentrated populations [of moose] are in the Southeastern and Northern Adirondacks, in-between Saranac and Montvale. There is also a considerable population in between Lake George and Lake Champlain.”

Spokesperson of the Adirdondack Lodge in LakePlacid, Jen Kretser, claimed moose actually started out in the Adirdondack area. “Moose were in the Adirondacks before there was logging,” she said.“They left, but in the past ten years they have been coming back. We now see a population between 300 and 400, which is great. They were gone for 120 years essentially, and it wasn't really expected that they would return.”

Winchell also talked about the rising population of moose as if it weren't a concern. This is because having moose in the area helps enhance the Adirondacks ecosystem. While the large animals have been causing mischief lately, sighting a moose is typically an exotic and special experience for most people and a positive change for the region. “A species has come back to the Adirondacks,” Winchell said. “It shows the health of the Adirondacks to have this large animal return back to its area, and it also helps the biodiversity of the Adirondacks.”

Moose-sighting is particularly rare when they are not in a herd. They tend to shy away from humans, similar to the way deer do. However moose posess many characteristics which separate them from being classified with deer. For starters, a moose is much larger than a deer. The bulls, or males, can weigh up to 1,200 pounds and the cows, or females, can weigh between 800 and 900 pounds. Cows do not have antlers at all.

Another unique aspect to the moose is the lack of reflectivity in their eyes. In the dark, a deer is noticeable by its reflective eyes, making car accidents avoidable at times if seen at enough of a distance away from the animal. But a moose's eyes are not reflective at all. “By the time you realize what's in front of you its too late to avoid a collision,” Winchell said.

Recent issues have arisen involving moose and motorist collisions after a booming in local accidents. According to an Associated Press article from October of 2002, ten deaths resulted between 1985 and 2002 involving collisions with moose. More recently, a man from St. Johnsbury, Vermont, was killed September 21, 2006 after colliding with a large moose. The driver ran into the moose on Interstate 93.

“They are enormous animals and in a collision, they crush your car."

Winchell and Kretser agree that the correlation between the moose population and car accidents could be a result of the moose rut season. “During the rut, males are out looking for females,” said Winchell. “Their attention is focused on finding a female, so they're a little less cautious than they would be.”

Kretser added, “In rut season they are moving around a lot, and they're going to be coming into roads. These sorts of collisions are inevitable and people just aren't used to it.”

Another factor to the moose-crash problem is their introductions to new and foreign territory. Winchell said, “They start traveling large distances come fall and are entering territory they aren't familiar with.”

As far as the actual crashes, moose-crashes are rumored to be one of the most dangerous high-impact animal crashes that occur. “Their accidents tend to be a lot worse [than deer],” said Kretser. “They are enormous animals, and in a collision, they crush your car.” The main reason the impact is so great when a motorist hits a moose is the animal's size. In a deer accident, the car hits the deer at level with its body and therefore the animal is thrown away from the car. When a moose is hit, the opposite occurs. “The car takes out the legs of the moose, instead of hitting the body of the moose and the moose falls onto the hood and windshield,” Winchell said.

“A moose was hit by a train-in that case the train won, but in most of the cases, they both come out as losers.”

Winchell described how moose have not only been getting into car accidents, but they have been getting into train accidents as well. “One of the accidents was in Northern Washington County. A moose was hit by a train-in that case the train won, but in most of the cases, they both come out as losers,” he said in reference to all four car collisions of September alone. “The moose were hurt badly enough that they all had to be destroyed. Typically their legs are broken, and they will not be able to recover from that,” Winchell said.

There is no sure way to avoid a collision with a moose, but there are, however, precautions that can be taken. Kretser's advice is to, “be cautious and recognize that there are hazards when driving.” Also in any accident, the first step after a collision is to call the police.

Attitudes about moose in the area tend to be mixed, but with their arrival comes many things. An enhanced wildlife, an addition to the food chain, and a trademark to the Adirondacks to name a few. However, moose have also been known to take away something incredibly valuable when involved in a motor vehicle accident- one's life.

Have you spotted a moose in the Adirondacks? When and where?

Many moose have been spotted between Indian Lake and Speculator on Route 30 according to Dean Nervik, a blogger of www.snowyinn.com. Nervik had actually crashed into two moose on his drive home. The next morning, he spotted moose again at the same location.

“[They were] just standing there looking at me, waiting to get their pictures taken because they were in such a hurry yesterday,” he said. Nervik advised that when photographing moose you stand far away from the animal, as they may get nervous and run away.