The Associated Press
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FILE PHOTO
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After disappearing from New York for more than a century, moose are slowly repopulating the Adirondacks and venturing to other parts of the state -- including the Albany and Rochester areas. Moose have been slowly spreading from New Hampshire and Vermont into New York. Here a bull moose chews aquatic plants while feeding in Marshfield, Vt. [Day in Photos]
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(October 22, 2002) — ALBANY — After disappearing from New York for more than a century, moose are slowly repopulating the Adirondacks and venturing to other parts of the state.
Uncontrolled hunting in the 1800s nearly wiped out the half-ton herbivores in the Northeast. As the continent’s largest wild animal, moose have few predators besides humans.
“As people moved into the Adirondacks, they just shot every one they saw and ate them,” said Alan Hicks, who studies moose for the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Chased out of New York, moose headed for New England. Dwindling numbers never completely left Maine. They returned to New Hampshire and Vermont in the 1960s and, after generations of migration, reappeared full-time in New York on June 25, 1980, 119 years after the last confirmed sighting, Hicks said.
New York’s moose population has grown from half a dozen in 1980 to an estimated 100 to 200 in 2002. Moose live mainly in the Adirondacks, though startled New Yorkers have spotted them in Albany and as far west as Rochester, Hicks said.
Outside the Adirondacks, moose are most likely seen in summer, when wayward yearlings leave their mothers. Inside the 6-million-acre park, the peak viewing season is late September to mid-October, when ``males are looking for females and wandering all over the place,’’ Hicks said.
“But in terms of just walking out in the woods and seeing one, your chances are still pretty darn slim,” he added.
“Moose aren’t common enough yet to say, ‘If you’re at such and such a lake at 6 a.m., you will see a moose.’ It will probably be a decade or so before we’re up to those kinds of numbers,” Hicks said. “That’s when the animal becomes an asset in terms of tourism.”
State officials and environmental advocates applaud any species returning to its natural habitat, but do not plan to aid moose restoration.
“Nature appears to be taking charge ... without our assistance,” said Neil Woodworth of the Adirondack Mountain Club. “People are concerned that a large-scale program might increase their population too much. There are worries about car-animal collisions. It’s one thing to hit a deer. It’s quite another thing to hit a moose.”
An adult, male moose can weigh up to 1,400 pounds and stand 6 feet tall from hoof to shoulder.
“They’re a beautiful animal, quite impressive and a thrill to see,” said Cedric Alexander, Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department’s lead biologist on moose.
But moose, who consume up to 60 pounds of twigs and shrubbery daily, can conflict with motorists and farmers, he said.
Between 1990 and 2000, the last year numbers exist, 20 moose died on New York’s roadways. No human died in the collisions. Nationally, less than 1 percent of car-moose accidents result in human fatalities.
“Moose, by nature, have a kind of casual disregard for people. Though we expect every animal to run away from us, moose do sometimes and don’t sometimes, so they do get hit by cars,” Hicks said. “The faster you go, the more likely you are to be injured.”
In neighboring Vermont, with a moose population around 4,000, between 150 and 200 moose are hit and killed each year. Since 1985, 10 motorists have died, Alexander said.
Maine, home to nearly 30,000 moose, averages 700 crashes, and two to three human deaths, each year, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife.
Hunting moose remains illegal in New York.
Limited hunting helps regulate New England’s moose population. Maine started to allow hunting again in 1980 and has issued 3,000 permits annually since 1999, making the state a vacation destination for hunters. Vermont, which reinstated the sport in 1993, allows hunters to kill 365 moose during a four-day season each October.
Uncontrolled hunting in the 1800s nearly wiped out the half-ton herbivores in the Northeast. As the continent’s largest wild animal, moose have few predators besides humans.
“As people moved into the Adirondacks, they just shot every one they saw and ate them,” said Alan Hicks, who studies moose for the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Chased out of New York, moose headed for New England. Dwindling numbers never completely left Maine. They returned to New Hampshire and Vermont in the 1960s and, after generations of migration, reappeared full-time in New York on June 25, 1980, 119 years after the last confirmed sighting, Hicks said.
New York’s moose population has grown from half a dozen in 1980 to an estimated 100 to 200 in 2002. Moose live mainly in the Adirondacks, though startled New Yorkers have spotted them in Albany and as far west as Rochester, Hicks said.
Outside the Adirondacks, moose are most likely seen in summer, when wayward yearlings leave their mothers. Inside the 6-million-acre park, the peak viewing season is late September to mid-October, when ``males are looking for females and wandering all over the place,’’ Hicks said.
“But in terms of just walking out in the woods and seeing one, your chances are still pretty darn slim,” he added.
“Moose aren’t common enough yet to say, ‘If you’re at such and such a lake at 6 a.m., you will see a moose.’ It will probably be a decade or so before we’re up to those kinds of numbers,” Hicks said. “That’s when the animal becomes an asset in terms of tourism.”
State officials and environmental advocates applaud any species returning to its natural habitat, but do not plan to aid moose restoration.
“Nature appears to be taking charge ... without our assistance,” said Neil Woodworth of the Adirondack Mountain Club. “People are concerned that a large-scale program might increase their population too much. There are worries about car-animal collisions. It’s one thing to hit a deer. It’s quite another thing to hit a moose.”
An adult, male moose can weigh up to 1,400 pounds and stand 6 feet tall from hoof to shoulder.
“They’re a beautiful animal, quite impressive and a thrill to see,” said Cedric Alexander, Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department’s lead biologist on moose.
But moose, who consume up to 60 pounds of twigs and shrubbery daily, can conflict with motorists and farmers, he said.
Between 1990 and 2000, the last year numbers exist, 20 moose died on New York’s roadways. No human died in the collisions. Nationally, less than 1 percent of car-moose accidents result in human fatalities.
“Moose, by nature, have a kind of casual disregard for people. Though we expect every animal to run away from us, moose do sometimes and don’t sometimes, so they do get hit by cars,” Hicks said. “The faster you go, the more likely you are to be injured.”
In neighboring Vermont, with a moose population around 4,000, between 150 and 200 moose are hit and killed each year. Since 1985, 10 motorists have died, Alexander said.
Maine, home to nearly 30,000 moose, averages 700 crashes, and two to three human deaths, each year, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife.
Hunting moose remains illegal in New York.
Limited hunting helps regulate New England’s moose population. Maine started to allow hunting again in 1980 and has issued 3,000 permits annually since 1999, making the state a vacation destination for hunters. Vermont, which reinstated the sport in 1993, allows hunters to kill 365 moose during a four-day season each October.
