RECENT COLLISIONS

More moose means more chance encounters with people.

So far in 2007, the state has recorded 12 moose-automobile collisions, a record even before the start of breeding season, Winchell said.

Late last May, a car hit a 400-pound moose calf on Route 86 less than a mile from Price Chopper in Lake Placid.

Three other moose were killed by vehicles in the Adirondacks that month: one in the Town of Wilton, one on Route 30 north of Paul Smiths and one on Route 30 between Speculator and Wells.

Winchell said DEC is working with the Department of Transportation to determine if and where moose-crossing signs might be placed.

HEAVY DAMAGE

Moose are very large animals and can weigh almost as much as a small car.

A bull moose can measure six feet tall at the shoulders and weigh 1,400 pounds.

“Their large body causes greater damage (in collisions), and, when struck, their height often causes them to impact the windshield of a car or pickup truck, not just the front of the vehicle,” Winchell said.

Moose are most active at dawn and at dusk, when light is poor.

Their brownish-black coloring makes them difficult to spot at night.

And their height often puts the bulk of their bodies above the path of a vehicle’s headlights.