Do you remember the story from early last summer about a moose that was on the loose in an Upstate New York city?

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In May of 2022, police were inundated with calls from people in Schenectady and nearby towns who swore, as hard as it was to believe, that they’d spotted a random moose just wandering around.

I remember calling my mom to tell her that there was a loose moose by her house and that she and my dad might want to use caution when out walking the dog. She was completely shocked and for good reason – Schenectady is not exactly the suburbs where there's a slight chance a moose might wander.

A week or so after the moose was first spotted, the Department of Environmental Conservation was able to capture the female at a downtown Schenectady residence and returned her to the wild in the Adirondacks.

People underestimate the size and temperament of moose. The average male moose weighs between 800 and 1,500 pounds while the average female moose weighs between 440 and 1,100 pounds. That's a whole lot of animal that could potentially do a whole lot of damage if provoked.

When you consider that the average horse is roughly 5 feet 4 inches tall and the average moose is about 7 feet tall, you can see why the moose is such a massive creature.

Most moose are not aggressive but just like humans, they can become irritated and aggravated when provoked. Seeing a moose is such an incredible thing that often people forget they shouldn't get too close or make loud sounds or even do ridiculous things like throw snowballs at the animals to get their attention.

If you really, really want to see a moose in Upstate New York and understand that these animals are to be treated with nothing but respect and allowed space, there are a few places you're more likely to see a moose than others.

According to Visit Adirondacks, an estimated 400 moose call the mountain range home, and the top five best places to spot one is in Vermontville on Route 3, at Meacham Lake on Route 30, at Saranac Lake, at the Limekiln Lake-Cedar River Road, and at Lake Lila.

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