Avoiding moose-vehicle collisions: Do you know what to do?

Earlier this month, four moose-vehicle accidents were reported in Newfoundland and Labrador, one right after another. 

This is also the time of year when moose sighting on the roads seem to be at their highest. 

Cecil Haire of the St. John's Morning Show spoke earlier this week to Dwight Blackwood, president and founder of the Newfoundland Sportsman about why this is, and what you can do to avoid them. 

Q: Last Friday, the media reported four moose crashes in a 24-hour period, three on the Ring Road and one on Pitts Memorial. Is it my imagination or do we see more crashes this time of year?

Actually, it's a common occurrence this time of year, predominantly in May and June.  What you have are the yearlings being driven out of the territory by their mothers who are about to give birth to another young moose.

Q: And for the uninitiated, what's a yearling?

A yearling is a moose which is a year old. These moose are basically looking for a new home. They've been driven away by their moms and they're wandering around, mainly wandering in a straight line, looking for a new habitat.

Q: What makes them… so stunned?

Well, they're uneducated. They've spent most of their lives being taken care of by their moms, and here all of a sudden they're all alone and they're out looking for a new home because their mama threw them away.

Q: Their mama drives them away because they're about to give birth, and so they're driving the young away?

That's exactly what they're doing. Just before she gives birth to a new calf, she'll drive the yearling away.

Q: When I think about the sightings just along the Trans-Canada Highway, is this the same thing that's happening as well?

Yeah, it's the same thing all over the province, from one coast to the other. Up the Northern Peninsula, you've got all these young yearling moose being driven away by their moms and everyone is trying to get a new home, and in a lot of areas you have a lot of encroachment by man, building new subdivisions, etc., and this causes the habitat to be lost by the moose and as a consequence they're seen more often.

Loss of habitat

Q: Let's talk about that loss of habitat. I know the growth and development along the Northeast Avalon in the last 10 years has been significant. How much is that a factor?

I think the sightings around the Outer Ring Road in particular are caused mainly by a loss of habitat. We've had so much development in the St. John's metropolitan area that the moose habitat has become less and less and less, and as a consequence, coupled with the fact that this is now May and June and they're being driven off by their mothers, we're getting a lot more sightings.

Q: The urban sprawl in your opinion is no doubt affecting the livelihood of these animals?

No doubt. Pippy Park, for example, is one of the few wooded areas that we have around the St. John's area, and the Outer Ring Road goes right through that, so consequently this is where we're getting most of our sightings.

Q: And hunters are not allowed to hunt in that area?

No, it's been a protected area ever since it became a park. We're not allowed to hunt here, so you got a moose population that is only being damaged by natural occurrences.

Q: So the moose in Pippy Park are safe, and that explains why there's a frequency of sightings, and crashes, on the Outer Ring Road?

Well, there's no doubt about it. People should be more aware of the areas that they travel in. Moose are always dangerous on the highway …particularly during May and June, you have to be more cautious, you have to slow down, you have to be more vigilant, you can't be distracted. All those things would help alleviate the number of crashes we have.

Q: What else should people do to protect themselves?

They say that hunters by and large are the people who have less accidents with moose because we have it ingrained into us to always sweep the horizon… hunters have fewer accidents with moose because they're scanning more.

Q: I have a friend who is an avid hunter and he says the same thing… he knows what to look for as well in terms of water supplies and meadows and that sort of thing.

Exactly. Anytime you got some water areas and forested areas — wet barrens and wet boglands are prime moose habitats — any time you're going by some of those areas, slow down, take it easy, and be very cognizant of your surroundings.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.