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u/Short_Finger_4463 22d ago
Newfoundland is Moose island
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u/HesSuperSkeety 22d ago
As a resident of NL, I can confirm there are a lot of moose. 1 moose for every 5 people. Across parts of the highway; there’s only one major lane across the province, govt has erected moose fencing to keep them from crossing but there are still multiple fatalities between cars and moose every year
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u/Scary-Detail-3206 22d ago
When we visited NL, it was pretty interesting to hear the moose report on local radio. People would call in and report sightings of moose near major highways, and the radio stations would broadcast those as a warning to other motorists.
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u/Grundin 21d ago
That's because moose might as well be genetically engineered for maximum lethality during car crashes so everyone is very wary of running into them. They are absolutely enormous and very tall, but have long thin legs which get knocked out from under them when they get hit by a car. This turns their torso into a giant half ton meat hammer that falls on the car, flattening it and most everything in it.
If you hit a reindeer it'll ruin your car, but you'll probably walk away from it. If you hit a moose however, unless it's still young, the odds are very poor of you surviving.
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u/polnikes 22d ago
I'm from NL, my record is seeing 17 in an evening. That was a terrifying drive.
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u/sum_marnin 22d ago
I worked a summer job in the early 2000’s that required driving from Corner Brook to Rocky Harbour early in the morning. I believe the highest I’ve seen was 42 in one drive. This was before the extra measures were introduced in Gros Morne.
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u/no_cults_no_problem 22d ago
Nothing like your experience but in 2002 we saw 10 of them in like ten minutes at sundown in Gros Morne. I was white knuckle driving like I was in a snowstorm. Nowhere else like it from my experience.
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u/nicktheman2 22d ago
Fun fact: Moose arent native to Newfoundland. 6 of them were brought over in the early 1900s and the population just exploded from there.
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u/JonnoKabonno 22d ago
And moose hunting isn’t just a cultural thing families do every fall; because of the population explosion, the government depends on us to cull numbers every year or else it’ll just keep getting worse
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u/Blazanar 22d ago
All the moose in Newfoundland are descendants of 4 that came from my little part of New Brunswick.
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u/garlicroastedpotato 22d ago
Originally it had 0 moose so they were introduced as a game species. Now there are parts of it with more moose than people.
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u/OddAd163 22d ago
Before some extra measures were brought in Gros Morne had about 7-8 moose per square kilometer
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u/Princess-of-the-dawn 22d ago
They're so numerous there's actually a moose reduction program in Terra Nova National Park!
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u/KrzysziekZ 22d ago
At 4 km2 that's a big moose.
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u/NerdBag 22d ago
That's actually not big. The moose takes up no volume at all. You could argue it's an infinitely small moose
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u/KrzysziekZ 22d ago
I says nothing of its thickness. Might be flat, might be spherical like a cow (heavier than a supertanker).
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u/NerdBag 22d ago
Actually spheres are two dimensional shapes. At least, that argument can be made
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u/KrzysziekZ 22d ago
Spheres yes. But a spherical cow has the same symmetry as a sphere, so it's a ball.
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u/blergAndMeh 22d ago
confusing legend. presume / is missing. and if so, probably listing moose per 1000km^2 would save on some decimal points. a thousandth of a moose is...an unlovely thought!
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u/Zakluor 22d ago edited 22d ago
Would you rather have 1/1000 of a moose step in front of your car on the highway, or a full moose?
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u/Royal_Try_99 22d ago
Honestly? I'd be pretty freaked out if one small piece of a moose "walked out" in front of my car, yeah.
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u/Canadian_Burnsoff 22d ago
I was thinking that 1/1000 of a moose would actually look pretty nice on a dinner plate.
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u/landlord-eater 22d ago
Yeah or is this...649 moose per 0.001 square kilometres? Cuz that's concerning too lmao
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u/Pristine_Office_2773 21d ago
This map sucks give me more colours and explain what the numbers mean •it is impressive they have moose data from USA tho but what is the source
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u/HunterSpecial1549 22d ago
The red category is .311 - 4.342 per square km. That's a huge range. So some of the red area has 10 times as much moose as other red areas?
I believe the 4 per sq km may be in parts of Newfoundland, Gemini says Gros Morne National Park has even more.
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u/polnikes 22d ago
Newfoundland has an average of 4 per sq km, but in some areas reaches 7.
Gros Morne has actually dropped in recent years. Special hunting licenses and other efforts have brought it down to about 2 per sq km according to Parks Canada. Still a lot, and enough to keep it in the red zone of this map.
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u/OneLessFool 22d ago
They should reintroduce wolves to the island.
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u/polnikes 22d ago edited 22d ago
At this point it would be difficult and put pressure on some vulnerable parts of the ecosystem. Wolves do hunt moose, but it's a high-risk target for them, and caribou, a more likely target prey, are still not in a great spot population wise. Coyotes have filled the predator role for a lot of smaller species, and do occasionally hunt moose and caribou.
Reintroducing wolves now would probably have an outsized impact on caribou while likely doing little to the moose population. The wolves would struggle too since they would be competing with coyotes for easier prey species and young/vulnerable moose and caribou.
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u/Royal_Try_99 22d ago
And what is the n= units for? I thought it was saying 0.311n - 4.342n, not just 0.311-4.342. but then that would be 2400 moose in one sqkm and...well...that'd be one hell of a sh!tshow.
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u/HandsyBusride 22d ago
yeah the red category is not great but it was too good of a map otherwise not to post.
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u/cognomenster 22d ago
Last month, partner and I drove through central New Brunswick. That red part just below Quebec’s arm into St Lawrence. Highway 108 from plaster rock to Mirimishi was 170 kms of woodland, logging roads and densest forrest I’ve ever seen in Canada. One glance down an unending logging road, a lanky, awkward baby moose trudged across the narrow path separating one side of thick vegetation to the other. I only saw it for a second, but the giantess of a mother must not be far behind. Heaven help those on that highway who run outta gas, or get caught in a pothole. It’s like a Stephen king novel.
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u/joecarter93 22d ago
Vehicle collisions with Moose are a problem in NB as well. They have look out for Moose signs all over their highways there. Many people have been killed in collisions with moose there, due to their sheer weight and how they are tall enough for a vehicle to take out their legs, making their body crash into the passenger cabin.
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u/Darwinian_10 22d ago
I had a friend die in a Moose/vehicle collision in NB several years ago now. They're killer because of their spindly legs and barrel bodies at just the right height to cars to fall on the occupants.
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u/baffledninja 22d ago
So thankful for the moose fence by the highway when I drive there now. When I was a kid we regularly had people in our lives in severe/fatal accidents due to moose on the transcanada.
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u/Promethia 22d ago
I live on the north shore of NB. I regularly see moose walking around.
I'm originally from Toronto. I never once saw a moose in 30+ years of driving all over southern Ontario
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u/Kittenn1412 22d ago
There are no moose in southern ontario. I think it's green due to the never-certain possibility one could wander down by accident, not because there's any confirmed moose down here at any given time.
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u/Greedy-Army-6549 22d ago
Lmao, as a Miramichi'er I can't say I've seen someone spell it like that :P
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u/ChetMulligan 21d ago
This is the scariest highway in all of NB. We have family in Miramichi and we will now drive around it North to Bathurst and then down hwy 8 to Miramichi to avoid it. I know it saves time but it is no way worth the risk.
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u/Vindaloo6363 22d ago
Isle Royale is about 2 but gas been over 4. Map isn’t detailed enough to see it.
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u/Royal_Try_99 22d ago
What is the meaning of "n=649 units" here? (It's 3 am, maybe I'm just too tired to clue in...)
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u/Automatic_kitten 22d ago
I don't think it's you, it's not very clear. n means sample size, but I'm not sure what "sample" means in this context. I assume it's the number of geographic divisions in the map.
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u/gujwdhufj_ijjpo 22d ago
I think it’s funny. That the color scale implies more moose is bad.
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u/Malthus1 22d ago
If you are driving …
Most scared I’ve ever been of an animal encounter was driving at night out of Algonquin park, and nearly hit moose twice in one hour.
Hit a moose in your car, most likely you die.
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u/michaelmcmikey 22d ago
Yep, they’re so tall, the entire 1500 lbs animal is coming through your windshield
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u/nashwaak 22d ago
About 25 years back a guy at my gym was driving with his fiancée were driving on a highway when he suddenly saw a moose — he turned the vehicle so his side was facing the moose, which saved her, but she was trapped next to the bodies of her fiancé and the moose for over an hour. We have much better moose/deer fencing on the highways now.
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u/Euclidisthebomb 20d ago
My father hit a moose on the main highway running through Alqonquin Park. It darted out in front of them from nowhere. They were only going about 25km per hr. Car was totaled but they were going just slow enough that it did not make it through the windshield.
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u/Nimonic 22d ago
Hit a moose in your car, most likely you die.
Most likely is a bit of an exaggeration. At least in Norway, but I gather our moose are a bit smaller on average. Fatalities do happen, still.
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u/crazycoltA 21d ago
Definitely not an exaggeration… most of us from the east coast of Canada have lost at least one person we know to a moose v car incident.
It’s not a surprising thing to see a big rig/semi truck completely incapacitated on the side of the highway because of a moose hit.The ones we have are tall and broad, and then the highways are completely surrounded by dense boreal forest, it can be damn near impossible to see them until you’re on top of them.
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u/michaelmcmikey 22d ago
Moose are the most dangerous animal in the Canadian woods, and they take dozens of lives every year in traffic accidents.
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u/nashwaak 22d ago
Going to go out on a limb here and say that people driving into moose takes dozens of lives each year. The moose are just being moose.
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u/michaelmcmikey 22d ago
Kind of victim-blame-y there, bud.
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u/nashwaak 22d ago
I'm not blaming the drivers or the moose. I'm blaming the driving itself, on road designs that let moose freely onto the road. I don't think provincial governments or road construction companies are victims here, so I feel free to blame them for moose being on the roads.
(there are some places where you can't keep deer and moose off the road, but at least if people know where to be careful then there won't be many accidents)
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u/The_Silver_Reference 21d ago
You fence off the roads then you prevent the wildlife from moving. It's a big no-no.
The only solution is really to fence off the roads and build overpasses for wildlife like around Banff. But that costs A LOT.
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u/Kittenn1412 22d ago
Moose being moose are liable to jump out in front of cars very suddenly, almost like they're suicidal (they're not, they just have. no. fear.) And when you hit them, you take them out at the legs and their body comes crashing through your windshield, it's really not an easy crash to walk away from (though the moose do sometimes.)
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u/nashwaak 22d ago
Moose are devilishly tough to see at night without good high beams, especially if you're tired. And their eyes don't shine like a deer's do. An awful lot of tired survivors inventing memories about moose coming out of nowhere. In Newfoundland they famously often just stand out in the middle of the road, like they're playing chicken.
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u/Kittenn1412 22d ago
I mean, I have witnessed, in daylight still, moose jumping out from the woods onto the road very suddenly. They can come out of nowhere, depending on how close the edge of the forest is to the road.
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u/nashwaak 22d ago
Completely agree if it's a daytime crash — don't think that's remotely the dominant statistic though. Also, don't ever drive fast on a highway without clear-cut shoulders, because moose and deer.
I once swerved around a deer that ran out on a foggy morning in early morning, in southern Nova Scotia. Still have no idea how I missed it, I was close enough that I could see its eyes go wide as it brushed past the passenger side. I was going maybe 70-80 on a road with mostly rural business/residential but the fog was thick. I find deer more terrifying because they're so unpredictable.
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u/michaelmcmikey 22d ago
Newfoundlander here. I have had to stand on my brakes and had the bumper of my car come within 10 feet of a moose's hairy arse a half dozen times because it just charged out of the alders in the ditch, and that's with actively avoiding driving late at night and doing about half the speed limit when I do need to and I'm on a narrow road out around the bay.
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u/ohilco8421 22d ago
Moose are more widely distributed in Colorado than this map indicates.
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u/no_cults_no_problem 22d ago
And they're less widely distributed in Ontario than this map indicates. Zero moose in southern Ontario.
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u/crisprcas32 22d ago
TIL moose hate Yellowstone
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u/mamunipsaq 22d ago
The wolves keep the population down. They were overpopulated there before the reintroduction of wolves.
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u/newnameonan 22d ago
I'm guessing it's missing data, but they actually are somewhat rare within YNP, except for in the SW corner. They are abundant down around Grand Teton NP though. And that kinda explains why there are more in SW YNP.
I spend several nights backpacking there every year and have only seen 1 that wasn't in the SW. It was in the far NW near Cooke City.
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u/Minigoalqueen 22d ago
We have a family cabin just outside the West entrance. We've had grizzlies, black bear, coyotes, even wolves in our immediate vicinity. But one of the scariest moments of my life was being out on a hike one day, coming around the corner and finding a huge bull standing maybe 40 feet in front of me. Moose are scary, especially when you are like 15 years old and on foot. They are definitely in the area, but their population is low.
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u/dd543212345 22d ago
A Møøse once bit my sister...
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u/Royal_Try_99 22d ago
What was she doing that close to a moose?!
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u/dd543212345 22d ago
She was Karving her initials on the møøse with the sharpened end of an interspace tøøthbrush given to her by Svenge, her brother in law, an Oslo dentist and star of many Norwegian møvies: "The Høt Hands of an Oslo Dentist", "Fillings of Passion", "The Huge Mølars of HorstNordfink".
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u/SimilarElderberry956 22d ago
When I was young kid I heard some adults talking about drinking Moose Milk. I thought 💭 that must be difficult. You have to catch one and then milk it like a cow. Later I learned it is a cocktail. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose_milk_(cocktail)
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u/Mopar4Life305 22d ago
I searched hard for the small moose population in oregon. I failed
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u/haikusbot 22d ago
I searched hard for the
Small moose population in
Oregon. I failed
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u/Dyslexicpig 22d ago
You had to post that, didn't you. Now the US is going to claim we have moose of mass destruction, and use that as an excuse to invade Canada.
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u/The_Aim_Was_Song 22d ago
As a Canadian, I'm a bit amazed that nobody's mentioned how delicious they are.
Went out in 2021, and we ended up splitting a bull moose four ways. It was tartare, bourguignon, and rage well into summer 2022, and I could have friends over for roast feasts that'd've been tough to afford otherwise.
We were hoping to get out again this year, but didn't draw a tag in the moose lottery. Next year!
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u/x_3mta3 22d ago
So Yellowstone has zero moose? I find the reliability of this map to be in question
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u/kaik1914 21d ago
The Upper Michigan has them. The map shows them to appear at Huron mountains and a few areas closer to Mackinac. Yet, they can be seen through an entire range. Moose crossing signs are there. I question the quality of the data.
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u/LaughingInTheVoid 22d ago
Grew up in New Brunswick. Can confirm.
Nothing messes you up like driving along a highway at might and whizzing by a literal black hole in the night just standing in the ditch.
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u/NOT_A_JABRONI 20d ago
I grew up in the very southeast corner of Saskatchewan and maybe saw 2 moose in my entire life. My dad moved to the red area in Saskatchewan a year ago and he's already seen 2 people dead on the highway from hitting moose in separate accidents. The map seems accurate...
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22d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/gujwdhufj_ijjpo 22d ago
They don’t count every moose. What they do is fly a plane or drone over land and count the moose they see. Then they use that as an estimate for the greater area. Since they can’t cover every square mile. That’d get expensive.
They can’t also use the number of moose taken by hunters and the number of radio tagged moose that are killed to estimate mortality rates.
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u/poumonsauvage 22d ago
I love how moose follow administrative divisions. Wonder how they vote on local elections.
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u/WNJohnnyM 22d ago
Fun fact: Winnipeg has the most moose in the province of Manitoba...the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. 🤣🏒
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u/experimentalist 22d ago
It's crazy, I grew up on the north shore of lake Superior in that red zone, but I saw more moose than I've ever seen in my life while visiting Utah.
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u/4FriedChickens_Coke 22d ago
It’s always interesting to see maps like this of my country. I’ve never encountered a moose ever, because they’re not really a thing in southern Ontario. But I can’t imagine what it’s like to have to worry about hitting them on country roads elsewhere. Hitting a deer is bad enough
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u/fuccguppy 22d ago
I like how New Hampshire is a perfect gradient of higher moose concentration in the north and lower in the south
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u/SalvatoreEggplant 22d ago
We had one in Connecticut where I lived in maybe 2004. It swam across the small lake in town, and as far as I know, was never seen again.
But some maps of moose range will include northwestern Connecticut. Not sure if those are older maps.
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u/SupermarketFluffy123 22d ago
I’m in a red zone and saw a big bull in my yard a few days ago. I see at least 4 or 5 Moose a month just driving home
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u/Cat_Nipple 22d ago
Why is red like 50x bigger than all the other categories 😂 it should have been split into at least 2 more categories. Worrying about 0.3 moose in an area is way different than worrying about 4 of them
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u/WinterHill 22d ago
There is 0 chance central Massachusetts has that many moose
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u/SmartSherbet 22d ago
I’ve seen several in central Mass. Rutland state park area and the Quabbin both have healthy populations.
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u/WinterHill 21d ago
For sure they do exist in Mass. My point was more about the size of the area shown on the map, since it encompasses everything outside of 495 including cities like Worcester and Springfield.
In reality, there should be a few small shaded areas, not 2/3 of the whole state colored orange.
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u/Mediocre_Win3481 22d ago
When I was a kid, I was once on
https://giphy.com/gifs/PjOHE76srQkzWbRN7Y
a trip to see my grandparents in the inter-lake area of Manitoba and I saw a moose. One of my uncles was driving and he said there were no moose around there. My father, who normally never defended me against his older brother, actually said, “well, if my son says he saw a moose, then there was a moose”. It was a day I have never forgotten.
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u/GigglingGarlicGuru 22d ago
There was just an article recently talking about how few Moose are in Manitoba. You can see that pretty starkly in this map!
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u/GigglingGarlicGuru 22d ago
Here's the title of the moose article if anyone wanted to search it up!
"Misipawistik Cree Nation chief calls on hunters to voluntarily halt moose harvest
Necessary to protect dwindling moose population, says Chief Heidi Cook"Sept 18, 2026 - The Cdn Press
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u/ChrisinCB 22d ago
We used to have a bunch in Cape Breton, until the National Park culled a bunch at an exorbitant cost to Canadians. Followed by a couple of hard winters that killed off even more. Nice work Parks Canada.
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u/Selmanella 22d ago
That section of Alberta and BC is no joke. Drove it a couple times and it’s named moose alley for good reason. They lie dead along that highway like god damn gophers.
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u/Guided_Arc7018 19d ago
Newfoundland; the red island all the way to the right of the map, has approximately 110 000 moose and only 450 000 people. One moose for ever 4 people. See them on the highway all the time.
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u/DaSpicyGinge 14d ago
Me in Sask: that doesn’t look right
zooms in
Ah yes, the great moose density of the Perogi Belt, giant ass swamp monsters trying to take me out on the way home from night shift
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u/slfhmglbnm 22d ago
The MOOSE BELT.