Moose With Eight Legs

April 17, 2008

(Above) A female moose strides out of the woods near the Christine Falls dam on the Sacandaga River just east of State Route 30 and just south of the Lake Pleasant/Wells town line Thursday, April 17, 2008. A yearling son stayed close to his mother’s side.

June 5, 2008

Zack Clothier, Athol, NY reports: I observed two adult Moose in the Moose River Plains Wild Forest. While driving down the Moose River Plains Road just before dusk a Cow came crashing through the woods right out in front of me, I had to hit the brake to avoid hitting her. Farther down the road near the "plains" another Moose was standing in the road, this time a Bull with button antlers. I took this shot of the Bull with the help of a powerful flash unit on my SLR.

June 18, 2008
10:00 AM

Two of our lodging guests observed an adult moose crossing Rt. 28, south of Blue Mountain Lake while they were enroute to the Adirondack Museum.

July 2, 2008
11:30 AM

Dennis McAvoy from Indian Lake called to report a juvenile cow standing along side of Rt. 28 where the road crosses Lake Abanakee which is just south of the hamlet near the Chain Lakes Road. Several people stopped to watch her but not a camera among them.

July 15, 2008
3:00 PM

Meredith Summerville reports:   My brother and I saw two moose as we hiked up the Owls' Head Mountain trail near Long Lake. They actually came right onto the trail about 20 yards from us before running off back into the woods. I didn't see any antlers. They weren't small--I guess I'd say medium, and I didn't notice much difference between them at all. Maybe two cows or a cow and a very big juvenile?

August 9, 2008
3:54 PM

Mike Clark from Caroga Lake, NY took these pictures of a young bull moose near the T- Lake outlet and T- Lake Falls. This is a small lake in the shape of the letter "T" which is north of Piseco Lake and is connected by a hiking trail. This area is between the southern Moose Habitat "Hotspots" of Perkins Clearing and West Canada Creek. Mike said he has seen many moose in the past but these were his first good photos. I think you will agree that they are excellent. Notice the "button" antlers of a juvenile bull and that his "hackles" are up, indicating that he is aware of Mike's close proximity.



September 7, 2008
4:30 AM

Nancy Kenyon reports: Hello... wanted to report a moose sighting....I never even knew about your site but was so amazed at this animal that I searched "moose population in Adirondacks" and your site came up. I am in a band that played at Daiker's Inn (Old Forge, NY) and on our way home about 4:30 Sunday morning (9/7/08), we encountered a moose crossing Rt. 28 (Forestport, NY) just above the Wigwam Tavern (the one with the plane sticking out). It was my band mate Phil Arcuri who actually spotted him....luckily he woke me up so I could see it too. What a great experience!!

September 15, 2008
2:22 PM

Robert Becker, Jay, NY reports: Sighted today 9/15 on Ausable Drive just off Route 86 in town of Jay at 2:20 PM - a yearling moose, utterly breathtaking, never saw one before - it all happened so fast - it was coming out from the left side of the road as I was driving out, and it didn't really run but kind of walked, kind of trotted across the road. I thought it was a really big dark colored deer at first but the tail and that snout..... I kept trying to tell myself it had to be a deer. One of my friends told me I should call the DEC who told me they are definitely there...... told me that a few years ago a bull moose walked up route 9N in Jay. I have lived here 10 years and never saw one and it was incredible to see one. Last night at the local bar, one of my distant neighbors near the state route told me that she and several of her neighbors saw the young moose as well as a large female moose - I asked how they knew it was female (I knew little about moose until yesterday really other than what is in the wildlife guides) and they told me, duh - no antlers. But several people apparently saw them, although I did not see the larger one, just a small one and my neighbor told me it looked like a baby born this year - as it was, just looking at it, its shoulders were just higher than level with the hood of my Jeep. I looked into the woods on the side of the road it went across but didn't see it again. I didn't notice any 'nubs' but I did notice that kind of beautiful in a hideous way, snout and the kind of stubby tail, cause I thought at first it was a deer and was looking for the little white tail they have. I was up all night reading Wikipedia and everything on moose that I could find; I cant believe I got to see one! The neighbor said they range between the wetlands on the saddle between the 2 Ausable Forks and down to the rivers. The guy at the DEC said there are as many as 600 of them in NY and that they are known to be in this area. I was floored by the whole experience. I thought we had to go to Maine or Minnesota to see moose. At the same time, one of the guys at the local bar told me he has been in the mountains 28 years and has looked high and low for them and hasn't seen one.   Now of course, I want to see a whole herd of them.

October 5, 2008
9:00 AM

News Flash From ADK Moose Central:

We had a couple of unannounced guests try to check in at the Snowy Mountain Inn this weekend after normal business hours. A large tell tale imprint was discovered in the gravel in the parking lot this morning at 10 AM. Upon further investigation, it was noted that a cow and juvenile moose had entered the north end of the parking lot from the opposite side of the roadway (Route 30), walked the length of the lot and exited. They continued their southern journey along the eastern shoulder of the road for about 100 feet and then entered the woods. The picture below is the cow's track on the road shoulder prior to entering the woods. Most of the tracks were not well defined because of the sand and gravel. Plus they were trotting most of the time after they walked through the lot. An unsuspecting staff member heard a loud noise and saw brief movement in the woods adjacent to the Inn about 6:15 AM, but assumed it was deer. In retrospect, it probably was the moose because of the location.

We have been procrastinating for quite some time about placing some night vision animal cameras around the property. I think this puts that project on the front burner. Every morning we discover evidence of many animals roaming around at night. You name it; it is here. Since the Inn is in the middle of vast wilderness, every animal known in the ADK Park wanders through. Even a few that are not supposed to be present have left evidence of their existence. Myself and land owners north of here have seen a jet black Cougar (mountain lion) in recent years. Others have seen tawny colored ones. Three years ago I took pictures of wolf tracks in the parking lot.


Moose (9")                                                                       Wolf (5")

October 8, 2008
3:00 PM

Update: The "Snowy Mountain Moose" has been spotted (or at least one of them). Some travelers, northbound on Route 30 near Snowy Mountain, saw a young bull moose with a small set of antlers, walking on the road shoulder. They stopped at the Stewarts store in Indian Lake for gas and conveyed their sighting to one of the Snowy Mountain Crew who just happened to be there.

October 21, 2008
8:00 AM

Update: The "Snowy Mountain Moose" has been spotted again....This time by the owners of the Snowy Mountain Inn. The young bull has antlers that are about 3 - 4 feet across with 6 - 8 inch tines. He was the size of a horse and had white stockings up to his knees. He sauntered through the parking lot of the Inn on this dark rainy morning and disappeared into the woods. An attempt to take pictures was fruitless because of the poor visibility. The next day, two local people reported seeing the cow and calf just north of the Inn. It is a good bet that the bull is also her offspring that was turned out when the new calf was born this spring.

November 6, 2008
10:00 AM

Mia Darrah, Bloomingdale, NY found these tracks on her property. There had been sightings in late summer of a bull moose in the the same area.