MOOSE -- © Dave Spier

Female Moose (October)  -- © Dave Spier

In an issue of D.E.C. Field Notes (Nov. 4), there are links to a Moose fact sheet and a gallery of NY Moose photos from various counties (mostly Hamilton and Essex, plus Warren, Herkimer, St. Lawrence, Oneida, Lewis, Rensselaer, and Saratoga). A video about tagging and tracking Moose in NY was not working.  North Country Public Radio featured moose as a Photo of the Day.

I have no secret hotspots for finding Moose in the Adirondacks. The last estimates I saw of Moose numbers in New York ranged up to 800, based on statistical analysis of sightings, vehicle collisions and reports from hunters. (Moose are protected in New York, so these were people hunting deer, bear, ducks, etc.) Average that population across the region and you get 7500 acres per Moose. Ideal habitat is a mix of forests with both deciduous and coniferous trees for shelter and browse, plus small clearcuts for regeneration of additional browse plus wetlands for aquatic vegetation eaten in the summer. Moose are therefore unevenly spread across the Adirondacks and some of the population is located in the Taconic Highlands.

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