1000 pound Hood ornament for 2000 pound Honda Civic - Near moose hit

[peakbagger]

Time for another reminder. The moose are out and very active. I missed out getting to see what the title describes on my civic a few days ago. I dont think it would have looked very good but by the size of the moose, I expect it would have become a convertible. It was a clear evening and I had my high beams on and there was no significant eye reflection, so it was very difficult to spot the moose crossing the road right at a corner. I ended up within 20 feet of the moose at the closest and it was obvious that the moose was not startled in any way and kept its slow pace across the road.

With the fresh rain, the north country is getting green and that usually gets the moose moving into the various open wet spots along the road so they can get their spring greens and snack of road salt. Plenty of confused yearlings also wandering about being forced into marginal spots by the older moose with established territories and a lot of these marginal spots are along roadsides where the prior occupant met an untimely passing.

Moose can move all day but they are particularly active in the early AM around sunrise and at dusk. This roughly aligns with hikers hours so be careful and slow down.

 

[sardog1]

Glad to hear you avoided the collision.

For those unfamiliar with moose anatomy -- they're perfectly constructed to come smashing through your windshield with lethal force when you hit them. A deer with its shorter legs will die in such a collision. But in the case of a moose, you both stand a real good chance of expiring. Slow down where visibility is restricted and always expect one to appear without warning. They're very dark and you need that additional time to react and slow your vehicle. Let the other guy hit the moose as he zooms at (literally) breakneck speed to his relaxing weekend .....

 

[IQuest]

I have heard that a moose's eyes do not reflect light like a deer or dog, making them even harder to see at night. Does anyone know if this is true?

 

[Paradox]

I have heard that a moose's eyes do not reflect light like a deer or dog, making them even harder to see at night. Does anyone know if this is true?

Only a very feint pale yellow, that is very difficult to see. Plus most of the time, they are not looking at you. They just don't seem to care much about human activity.

 

[Mac]

Saw one on Moose Alley (between Rangeley and Stratton) on the Easter weekend. Fortunately, it was just standing there, and ran away when I stopped. I got an extremely poor picture of it running away (hind end shot), but haven't downloaded it from my camera yet. It was certainly tall enough to have come through my windshield if I had been unfortunate enough to hit it.

 

[Chip]

Super close call on rt 2 west of Appalachia Sunday morning. About 5:15am I'm thinking "I should be seeing a moo..." and there it was just off my right bumper, a dark brown silhouette heading off the road. Had to thank the protective moose statue on the dash for the avoidance. Thanks to Paradox for the protective moose statue idea.

 

[dclynch]

OMG, a plastic moose

Too cool. Where do I get one?

 

[bignslow]

Super close call on rt 2 west of Appalachia Sunday morning. About 5:15am I'm thinking "I should be seeing a moo..." and there it was just off my right bumper, a dark brown silhouette heading off the road. Had to thank the protective moose statue on the dash for the avoidance. Thanks to Paradox for the protective moose statue idea.

What the heck were you doing driving at 5:15???