How to Avoid Hitting a Moose

If you have taken our advice and elected to do your autobahning in a remote western state like Alaska or Montana, you should be aware that danger is potentially lurking around every curve and even on the shoulders of the road up ahead. No, not police-moose.

This is no joke. According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, 72 percent of Anchorage residents have been in a car that swerved or braked for a moose; 11 percent have been in a car that hit one. Alaskan motorists even warn one another with hazard lights if a moose is nearby. A fully grown bull moose weighs up to 1,800 pounds, stands over six feet tall, and can quickly bring a speeding car to a dead stop. If a collision on the highway with a much smaller white-tailed deer can flip over a car, imagine what hitting a moose would do. Needless to say, neither you nor the moose would be in very good shape afterwards. If you know a little about moose behavior, however, you may be able to avoid hitting one. Most accidents occur between dusk and dawn, because moose are more active at night and people have a hard time seeing them in the darkness. Unlike deer, which are light colored and whose eyes reflect headlights well, moose are dark brown to black, and their eyes reflect light poorly.

During the warmer months, moose like to reside near a lake or stream, which provides them with aquatic plants to eat and relief from insects. Although bulls are content to remain in the forest feeding on trees during summer, in the fall mating season, bulls will follow the scent of a cow moose for miles. During the winter, moose often cluster on the shoulders of highways foraging for vegetation. Moose also are known to walk along the highways so they can lick the winter's accumulated road salt. But a particularly dangerous time for drivers is the spring, when adult moose hoof it out of their winter lairs to find a new habitat. At the same time, yearlings leave their mothers for good and make tracks to find their own apartments. The sum is a lot of moose roaming around in the spring, showing up in peoples' backyards, and wandering all over the roads.

Almost half of the moose killed by vehicles are calves. Motorists often spot a cow moose crossing the road but fail to pick up the calf following behind its mother. Younger moose are particularly hazardous to motorists because they have not gotten used to cars and can panic and run into traffic instead of away from it.

To prevent a collision in moose country, always pay attention to both sides of the road, including the shoulders. It's also a good idea to turn on your high beams and lower your driving speed at night. Watch out for moose near lakes and rivers. If you see one, especially a cow (no antlers), look for another right behind. Moose are nearsighted; never assume one sees you or will stay put. Pass slowly by the moose so you will have time to stop if it bolts. And be sure to heed those MOOSE X-ING signs.