Photo Credit: Gary Lee
DEC is asking the public to report moose sightings as part of ongoing efforts to monitor moose distribution in New York. Most of New York’s moose live in the Adirondacks, but we also have moose in portions of eastern New York along the border with Vermont and Massachusetts. Occasionally, moose are seen in southeastern New York and the Catskills — these are generally single animals that have dispersed from other areas in New York, Connecticut or Massachusetts. In 2019, the public reported 447 moose observations to DEC.
Moose are the largest land mammal in the state. Bulls weigh from 600 to 1,200 pounds and stand up to six feet tall at the shoulder. Cows weigh anywhere from 500 to 800 pounds. Moose are primarily browsers, feeding on the leaves, twigs and buds of hardwood and softwood trees and shrubs. An adult moose eats 40 to 60 pounds of browse every day. Favored plant species include willows, birches, maples, balsam fir, viburnums, aspen, and mountain ash. In the summer, when most moose sightings occur, moose feed heavily on aquatic plants in ponds and wetlands, wading into the water and reaching beneath the surface for plants.
Many moose sightings also occur along roadways. Drive cautiously at dusk and dawn as moose can be hard to spot due to their dark color. If you see a moose, do not block traffic and remember to respect wildlife by keeping quiet and viewing from a distance.
Please report your moose observations using DEC’s online form, and share your moose encounters with us by emailing photos to wildlife@dec.ny.gov.
Cow Moose seen May 21,t 2020 at the top of the hill near the 2 mile marker MRP main corridor.. Report relayed by Luke the watershed steward. through Terry Staub
Tuesday July 14, 2020 I saw a moose on North Shore Road, Hadley NY, at around 5:30 PM. No Antlers but seemed large as I have shot a 4 year old elk and the moose seemed to be at least 6 feet tall at shoulders. The moose was standing in the NB Lane and I was headed SB, it was about 1 mile north of the Conklinville Dam and crossed the NB shoulder and went into the woods towards Stewarts Pond. A few days later I was speaking with 2 workers at a storage unit rental site and one of the workers said that he was driving NB at about the same time and his wife told him that she saw a moose in the powerline right of way, just north of where I saw the moose.
We saw 2 full grown moisecows at about 8:40 pm on Harrisburg Rd. ( northwest end near the lake) in Stony Creek Y 12878