Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
moose fodder. In short, the new logging practices created vast “moose pastures” that the moose were
quick to take advantage of. Moose numbers began a steady upward climb, first across northern Maine,
next across northern New Hampshire, and finally across northern Vermont and New York. Then the
great moose expansion began to spread southward, gradually encompassing most of the territory in the
three northern New England states.
Of course, logging wasn't the sole reason for the resurgence of moose in this area. Rapidly increasing
numbers of beavers (see chapter 1) helped, and the reduced number of white-tailed deer in areas of huge
clearcuts may have played a role, as well. This will be explained a bit later.
Although growing numbers of moose have delighted many people, not everyone is thrilled. Undeni-
ably, large numbers of moose can cause significant problems, owing partly to serious misunderstand-
ings about the real nature of moose. As perhaps befits their great stature and bulk, moose tend to go
right through obstacles, rather than ducking under or leaping over them in the fashion of their smal-
ler brethren, the whitetails. This causes major headaches for maple syrup producers who find their sap
pipelines knocked down by moose passing through their sugar woods; likewise, farmers quickly be-
come weary of repeatedly chasing after cattle that have wandered from their pastures through gaping
holes in fences torn by wandering moose.
As aggravating as these problems can be, they aren't the most serious ones. As the numbers of moose
increase, so do the collisions between automobiles and moose. Unlike collisions with deer, which can
cause expensive damage to a car but mostly don't seriously harm the occupants, collisions with moose
are extremely dangerous. Because of its long legs, the body of a moose is higher than the hoods of most
passenger cars. The result is that when car strikes moose, the body of the moose usually smashes into
the windshield or comes down on the roof, flattening it. Often driver and passenger are seriously in-
jured, and a number of people have been killed in these crashes.
To some degree, such collisions can be attributed to the highly erroneous idea that moose are pon-
derous and slow-moving. True, their extremely long, almost stiltlike legs and great bulk give them an
awkward, ungainly look— but no one should be fooled by this highly deceptive appearance. Moose
can sustain a ground-devouring trot of five to ten miles per hour for hours on end, and at full throttle
they're capable of going at least thirty-five miles per hour—nearly as fast as a whitetail's top speed!
Contrary to the expectations of those who think moose are slow and lumbering, they can intersect with
a speeding automobile with astonishing rapidity.
My wife and I experienced a graphic demonstration of this fact four or five years ago. We were driv-
ing on New Hampshire's Kancamagus Highway through a part of the White Mountain National Forest.
It was broad daylight, and we were cruising at the fifty-mile-per-hour speed limit along the down-slope
on the Maine side of the pass. There was a long, straight stretch at that point, the road was fairly wide,
and beyond each shoulder was a ditch, with a cleared strip between it and the woods.
Suddenly I caught a movement out of the corner of my left eye. Something about the movement
suggested that it was bigger than a bird, and the thought flashed through my mind that it might be a
hiker emerging from the woods. All that consumed only a split second, and when I glanced in the rear-
