Moose have a way of popping up where they are least expected, especially in the Canadian province of Newfoundland which is home to about 150,000 of this huge member of the deer family. They are all descended from only four members of the species, introduced from New Brunswick in 1904.
This makes them a little inbred, which is probably why they tend to congregate around the highways of Canada’s youngest province (and England’s oldest colony) waiting to delight, or sometimes scare the dickens out of passing motorists.
The males carry antlers weighing about 20 kg (almost fifty pounds!) and have been known to challenge and attack cars! An acquaintance of mine had a wooden silhouette of a male moose decorating his backyard. One day he observed a large bull moose smash through his garden fence and systematically destroy the model. One wonders what the creature would have done if the silhouette had been of a female.
My own experience of moose has been to have them turn up where least expected. Ironically, the only place I’ve not encountered one is walking through the wilderness.
For example, one day I was sitting at the kitchen table of our suburban St. John’s, Newfoundland home and marveled to see a young moose amble through the back yard. On another occasion my father was looking out of his office window in downtown St. John’s and observed a bull moose strolling down the city’s main street.
I saw two more moose one day on the edge of a parking lot, while walking through Rocky Harbour in western Newfoundland. I surprised a mother moose (known as a “cow”) and her calf which is not a really smart thing to do because if mama feels her calf is threatened she will cheerfully attack you. Though the cow doesn’t have antlers she can put a good beating on you with her hooves. Fortunately for me she stood placidly chewing grass while her calf alternated between skittering off at my slightest movement and then scurrying back.
I spoke calmly to the moose telling her how beautiful her baby was (hey, it works with people!) and slowly raised my camera for a few photos, then walked off, leaving her in peace.
Another surprising moose encounter happened when I was observing a 3rd Century AD Roman coin celebrating the thousandth anniversary of the founding of Rome. The reverse featured a moose! 
It would have starred in gladiatorial competitions to celebrate the empire’s anniversary and likely was captured in Scandinavia where the animal also historically resided. I couldn’t help but hope that the moose soundly whipped some gladiator’s behind in the games.
Most roadside moose encounters occur at night or at dawn and dusk, which is why I try to drive in Newfoundland during midday. Well someone must have forgotten to tell the moose that because my most recent moose encounter occurred on the Trans-Canada Highway at 3 PM on a sunny afternoon. Driving about 100 kilometers an hour I hit a curved section of the highway and glanced right to observe a highway sign, indicating I was just south of the community of St. George’s.
When I looked back I was heading straight towards a young cow moose. Going too fast to stop, I swerved left. Fortunately the moose jumped right, but I missed her by no more than a foot. In my rear view mirror I could see that the wind blast nearly knocked her off her feet. Her legs all entangled, she almost fell, then righted herself and loped indignantly off into the woods.
While comical in retrospect, visitors to Newfoundland need to be very cautious driving any time of the day or night. It is best to avoid night driving and to limit road time at twilight and dawn, but realize that moose can be on the highway at any time. Be sure to keep your speed down. It is thrilling to be able to pull over and observe one of these amazing creatures, but they can be downright dangerous if you hit one. With their long spindly legs the body can go crashing through the windscreen of most automobiles, causing injury or even death to occupants of a motor vehicle.
After all, while it may be fun to enjoy proximity to Newfoundland’s largest land animal you don’t need to invite one into your car!
For more information, surf to: Newfoundland And Labrador
Photo Credits
All Photos By George Burden – All Rights Reserved
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