Where to see moose?

Hello fellow cruisers!

I'll be on a Canada - New England cruise in three weeks and would like to see moose. Went to Alaska last year and all I saw was moose butts (running away from us) and moose statues. I'm ready to see the whole moose! (In their natural habitat, not a zoo, that is.)

Itinerary includes Quebec City, Sydney NS, Halifax, Saint John, and Bar Harbor. Anyone know of a good place to see them? TIA!

In Maine and New Hampshire, you'd have to drive way up to the Great North Woods near the Canadian border to have the best chance of seeing moose in the wild. In Maine, Moosehead Lake is a good place:

http://www.yankeemagazine.com/articl...fe-new-england

"Moose in Maine

Lobsters? Sure. But the state of Maine is also home to about 76,000 moose. One of the moosiest zones in the state is the aptly named Moose-head Lake. This place is Moose-Watch Central: You can do it on foot, by boat, via seaplane, or on a guided moose safari. Closest we’ve come to a sure thing when it comes to spotting a moose is a moose-watch cruise with The Birches Resort in Rockwood. The boat captain knows all the secret, pine-shrouded coves where the moose tend to hang out. Best time to go: summer. mooseheadlake.org/moose.shtml

birches.com"

http://www.birches.com/summer/tours/...uises-safaris/

http://gonewengland.about.com/cs/nhs...moosealley.htm

Do they ever visit nearer civilization? Sure! I'm about 40 miles north of Boston in southern New Hampshire. We had some moose living behind the high school years ago, and more recently a moose ran through downtown Manchester, NH. They occasionally visit backyard pools in the 'burbs. You have to be careful driving at night on back roads up north because they like to stand in the middle of the road! (We also have black bear wandering through oncce in a while. One got hit crossing the highway in Nashua, NH a few years ago.)

If your cruise included Portland, Maine, you could drive to the Maine Wildlife Park north of Portland to see moose: http://www.maine.gov/ifw/education/w...park/index.htm

In Bar Harbor, I've seen deer in Acadia National Park, but no moose.

Oh my gosh, this sounds fantastic, Arusha! Can't wait to explore your links. Thanks very much!

If you really want to see a moose, head to Scarborough Maine and visit Lenny, the Chocolate Moose. he is right there, on display, as big as ever.

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/Maine/IMG_3927_zpsc4f7cbc0.jpg

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/4364

Sorry, I couldn't resist. :D:D:D:D:D

Cheers

Len

I don't think there's been a year in the last decade where we didn't have moose wandering around in Portland. However, that is usually in spring during the rut, when the males are so confused they can't think straight and the females are running for their lives.

There really aren't any areas close to the ports where you can see moose in the wild. I've seen a few on my way to our camp in Sebago, but that is just chance sightings.

I wish seeing moose was a guarantee. I have lived in Maine for 42 years and have seen 2 moose in the wild.

There is a wild animal park in Gray, about 45 minutes from Portland that had moose....

Chengkp75, loved your comments!

If memory serves me (and it sometimes doesn't!), on a tour to Hopewell Rocks from Saint John two years ago, the driver said we were going through moose habitat. I remember it was somewhere between Saint John and an osprey nest alongside the road. Wherever it was, there were fences on either side of the road to keep the moose off the highway. But of course we never saw any, sailing by at 55 mph.

Maybe he said deer habitat instead of moose?? :confused:

There really aren't any areas close to the ports where you can see moose in the wild.

They are wild and do, despite the occasional confused/hunger-driven foray into more built up areas, prefer to be in the wild, i.e. far from people and habitation. Logically, they are not likely to reliably be visible in an area accessible for a day trip from a cruise port on the eastern seaboard. And even in the wilderness areas, once they sense your presence, all you are likely to see are back views. (Personal experience: I've seen many moose in lakes a 3 day paddle into a roadless national park. Try that type of vacation if you want to see them.)

Hope you have better luck than we have had. We have been to many places in Maine and have also visited New Hampshire and Vermont several times each, always hoping to see moose. No luck. Thought we would certainly see one in Alaska. We saw none, not even on the wildlife tours we took. Finally took a wildlife tour in Lake Jasper, British Columbia and finally saw one through the trees. Could barely tell it was a moose but it made our day.

It really is all a matter of luck. Just being in the right place at the right time.

We try to do a weeks vacation in New Hampshire every other year. On our last trip, we were going back to our hotel, driving thru one of the notches about 6:30PM or so. We saw a bunch of cars parked on the side of the road, and curiosity got the best of me and we stopped. Asking what was up, they just pointed to the side of the road and there was a huge moose and her baby, just strolling along, munching on the grass. WOW. Out came the cameras. They were really oblivious to the people that were there. They just kept moving along, even strolled out into the middle of the road a couple of times. Of course most of the people were following them, at a decent distance, but it didn't matter to the moose. after about 1/2 an hour of moosing along, they retreated back into the woods. We spoke to a women there, who said she lived in NH for years and never saw any moose to speak of.

Cheers

Len