Moose in the Adirondacks

The Moose, alces alces, is the largest member of the deer family and has an estimated population in NY State of 500 to 800 as of 2010. We have yet to encounter a moose in the Adirondacks, but there have been sightings on Osgood River, near to White Pine Camp in 2014.

MOOSE confirmed at WPC! First time guest Bob Allbery and wife from Ohio paddled the Osgood River and saw 3 moose: a cow and large calf about 2+ miles down and then another cow about a mile from the mouth of the river! There was a report by another guest of one standing near the shore in view of WPC a month ago. (posted to White Pine Camp Facebook Page, September 18, 2014)

Moose sighting on Osgood River, Photo Credit: Bob Allbery
source: White Pine Camp Facebook page

We have had very close-up sightings of deer, once seeing two generations together immediately outside our cabin at Adirondack Swim and Trip Camp. Apparently, deer and moose rarely cohabitate because deer carry a parasite which is deadly to moose.

While sightings are rare and celebrated these days, moose were commonplace in the 1800s, the age of the Adirondack guides. Guide Alvah Dunning was credited with killing the last moose in the region sometime in the 1860s (accounts vary as to the exact year).

Hamilton County sighting, Photo by Gary and Karen Lee, source DEC Website

Here is a video showing giving us a peak at this fascinating creature and some interesting information. (Unfortunately, the creator disabled the youtube imbed function.)

I think in the simplest possible terms, the moose is a symbol of both the richness and the history of the Adirondacks: it has a rare and unique beauty, it flourished in the wild until being brought onto the verge of demise through human interaction, and it is making a tentative and uncertain comeback. On second thought, that characterization is much too dramatic for the Adirondacks writ large. I believe that the current state of the Adirondack park is much more robust than that of her inhabitant the moose.

Dear moose, we hope to catch a glimpse of you on our next visit to White Pine Camp.

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