Moose kill more people than bears in northern Canada.
Sometimes along the side of the highway they'll post a silhouette of a moose about to cross the road. I'm not sure if they are intended as a reminder to be vigilant, or as a kind of reward for the vigilant driver who keeps scanning the shoulders for a wildlife ambush. Sort of the way they plant real drugs in suitcases to give drug-sniffing dogs a payoff from time to time and keep them from getting bored.
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Moose are also the original creators of stealth materials. Their fur seems incapable of reflecting headlights effectively.
And here I thought deer were bad enough. This far south we don't see (many) moose, or if we do they make the paper ... but deer collisions are common. Usually trashes the car, but it can be worse. We had a fellow in our company hit a deer on his motorcycle ... bad, bad scene.
Ever worry about Moose ( & squirrel ) on the runways? A month ago, during rutting season, we had a deer jump the airport fence and wander the runways just after dark. He was hit by a Cirrus on take-off, just at rotation, which killed the deer and wrecked the wing. I imagine a moose could be really really bad.
A deer was hit on the road outside our place tonight :( Wrecked the car, the driver left in an ambulance.
The big problem with moose, other than their size, is the length of their legs. If you hit a moose with an average car you knock the legs out and the body comes through the windscreen.
Mythbusters did a segment where they drove a few cars into a simulated moose. They wrecked several cars in the process before concluding that running into a moose at any speed was a very bad idea.
"Moose kill more people than bears" - could that be because the bears don't use motor vehicles?
I was on a train once that hit a whole herd of cattle. Luckily 120 tonnes of locomotive had the better part of the deal
In Alaska there are signs along many busy roads that tally the number of moose killed by cars that year. On one hand, it's an effective reminder of the need for vigilance, but on the other it's a bit surreal (the fiendish part of me can't help thinking of "Help us beat last year's record!")
Alaska also has a program in which roadkill moose is donated to charities -- volunteers go out, clean and butcher it, and distribute it. One moose can go a long way. Meanwhile, the Anchorage airport used to have a problem with moose wandering the runways (the fences got improved as a result), and even now many hotels have signs admonishing the tourists *not* to feed the moose. They may look adorable, but they're pesky and a potential hazard.
A friend of mine built a house near Wasilla (yes, *that* Wasilla), and for the first several months a moose who had been living there kept head-butting my friend's new garage. He said it reminded him of the saying "the dumber the animal, the tastier the meat."
In Alaska there are signs along many busy roads that tally the number of moose killed by cars that year.
"Many" isn't quite the adjective you're looking for there. There is a single sign, on one highway (the Glenn Highway between Anchorage and Palmer/Wasilla) I suppose many sounds better than one, but one is more accurate.
Many" isn't quite the adjective you're looking for there....I suppose many sounds better than one, but one is more accurate.
My apologies to all for the faulty memory and resulting inaccuracy. That's what happens when I try to type, remember and watch television all at once. :)
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