The Mooses are on the Looses!

Bull Moose

As a newcomer to Alaska I'm shocked at the commonality of moose encounters here in Anchorage and I am fascinated by the fact that a healthy moose population lives in the city along side of  261,446 people.  Don't get me wrong, we're talking about creatures that are on average 1200 lbs.  People here are used to seeing them around town, grazing on the side of the roads, crossing major 4-lanes and running out in front of their cars.  They're moose conditioned and I'm not...yet.

I was driving to Target this morning and had my first encounter with a large moose cow crossing the road right in front of me.  I hit the brakes and she crossed with no incident thank goodness.    I wasn't prepared or thinking I would see a moose because I was driving down a busy road in a heavily populated area.  I circled back to see if I could catch a picture of her as she meandered through yards and didn't see her.  I hooked back towards the main road and caught a glimpse of another cow lying down in someone's front yard.  It's common here and generally not a problem unless she has a calf.  That's when it gets naughty.  Mommies protect babies.  It's a natural thing.  You don't want to get between a moose cow and her calf or you're asking for trouble which I hate to say can lead and has lead to death for some people who were caught in a bad spot or were just unaware of the danger. 

Moose Cow in the city of Anchorage

Most of the time the moose are the ones who suffer ill fate.  In the city of Anchorage during the winter months, there are on average 130 moose deaths associated with vehicle encounters.  Most of the accidents occur at night and on slick roads.  Weather conditions often make it difficult to stop suddenly when you see a moose headed for your windshield.  Surprisingly there are few human fatalities associated with these accidents.  People here watch for moose and are on the lookout for crossings.  I'm just not there yet.  It's a shock for me to think about seeing a 1200 lb animal appear out of nowhere and run in front of my vehicle.  I'm used to the average squirrel, rabbit, deer, turkey or an occasional bear back in South Carolina on the road but seeing a moose is akin to having a Black Angus bull run in front of your car.  They are HUGE!
I love to see them and think it's just crazy the way they trot through town.   The hit TV show Northern Exposure that took place in a fictional city in Alaska often showed moose on the loose in the city.  The show aired between 1990 and 1995 with 110 episodes.  The depiction of the animals having full run of the city is true.  I love it and am doing my best to be aware and on the lookout for moose now that I'm in town.



Bull Moose in the back of the park

As I said, I was driving this morning to Target and just happened to glance back into a local park that borders a church and a heavily populated neighborhood.  As a hunter, my eye is trained to catch what's not "normal" in a woodland setting.  There resting in the middle of the park clearing was a large bull moose.  When you look at the first picture on this post, it appears that this fella is somewhere in the wild.  NOPE.  He was lying in the clearing of a city park in Anchorage off of Raspberry Road.  I drove my truck up on the sidewalk and watched him.  Here's the first photo I took.  Check out the houses behind the park and you can see how close he is to civilization. 

Bull Moose in the park off of Raspberry Road in Anchorage - there's a 4 lane right behind this guy.  He's wonderful!

I wanted to get a close up of this bull so I pulled into the church parking lot and got out of the truck and walked up the path into the park.  Calling this spot on earth a Park is really not what most people would expect.  Basically it's just a small patch of green space set aside for the neighborhoods.  This bull made it his home for his morning nap.  Trust me, he ruled the "park" as far as I was concerned.  I crept up the path towards this guy and got close enough to take a pix of him. To me he was beautiful!

What a wondrous thing to live close to nature and see what we see here in Alaska.  Animals have their place as do people.  Its just a way of life one that is unique and important. I'm in awe...