Moose Yearling on the Kanc

vftt.org

Help Support vftt.org:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

MichaelJ

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 9, 2003
Messages
5,138
Reaction score
521
Location
Outside
Just thought I'd share this video which I shot Sunday morning as Una_dogger was driving us along the Kanc. We had to pass this yearling very carefully lest she dart out in front of the car. It was quite the experience.

 
Last edited:
That was quite the experience. I tried slowing to a stop but then she moved out onto the road. A little gentle herding with the car got her moving again, but she followed alongside. I felt badly, because she was clearly stressed and began vocalizing. A little more pressure on the gas and she was off the road. I certainly didn't feel good about scaring wildlife, but hopefully this controlled experience will give her a bit of fear of cars?
 
Yikes!

Good thing he/she wasn't there as SK & i made the obligatory death defying mad dash to the airport via the Kanc...:eek:
 
They seem to be having a vibrant spring. My heart breaks for the impacted when they get hit, and you want those little ones to get some experience before they face the big dangers.

Between the bikes, the moose and the walkers, you really gotta keep a sharp eye!

Nice shots, thanks very much.
 
<bump> Something's definitely up in Mooseland... I have now had four "close encounters" in just over a week... one young cow (I think) in a wallow off Tripoli Road, two sitings on Rt 49 (Tuesday AM and Wednesday PM last week), and the topper on Sunday AM, when I looked out my back window to find a young animal in my "yard" (really, an open grove of birch and maple between my house and the Waterville Valley golf course).

Maybe it's a coincidence, but I don't think I saw four moose in any given month last summer. All the examples I have seen looked quite healthy, and none have had an obvious rack (when do they start to develop?)... I would have said all four animals were about the same size, and, consequently, about the same age.

ForestGnome or other local experts... any thoughts as to why the sudden spike in sightings? Are the Bullwinkles more active, more common, or something else?
 
ForestGnome or other local experts... any thoughts as to why the sudden spike in sightings? Are the Bullwinkles more active, more common, or something else?

Thanks, but I'm an apprentice ;) My guess is that it's just nature. I don't think the population is up or that anything is forcing them to the roads, etc. I think our group has just been seeing/reporting more.

Great video! I love watching moose walk or trot because it gives a better sense of their size. IMO, absolutely no harm was done and Sabrina may be right about a gentle lesson. Roads through their habitat are a part of their life and this youngster just got a scare without injury.

Notice how the yearlings still have a winter coat.

happy trails :)
 
ForestGnome: Roads through their habitat are a part of their life and this youngster just got a scare without injury.

Unfortunately, that seems to have backfired for one moose down in Waterville Valley early Saturday AM... we've been seeing the same yearling bull very consistently in the same place on Rt 49 all spring, once or twice a week, hanging out right next to the road, just into the 50mph zone. A couple times I've come across him standing straddling the white line, so he didn't seem to be learning his lesson.

I was chatting with one of our local police officers yesterday AM and he mentioned that, with all the traffic going to the triathlon early Saturday AM, they'd finally gotten the call they'd been expecting, to remove this guy from the side of the road. Very sad, he was a majestic young fellow. Didn't hear how the car fared.
 
Top