Moose

While driving through Gros Morne the first morning I was there, I saw several vehicles, including a large tour bus, pulled over on the side of the road. I assumed they were watching a moose and quickly took my camera to see if I could get a photo or two before it disappeared into the woods. The moose wasn't very nervous (it has probably seen thousands of curious humans throughout its life in the park), and I was able to get a couple of photos.

As I was takiphotographing the moose, a park ranger drove by and blew the horn several times to scare it away from the road. A few minutes later, I understood why. The third photo shows a couple of rangers loading a dead moose onto the back of a truck. The sign entering the park warned drivers that there had been 22 moose/vehicle accidents so far this year. Moose/vehicle collisions can be very serious, often resulting in serious injuries or death.

I spoke to a couple of guys in the park who had travelled from St. Anthony (a four hour drive from where we were) overnight. They said they had counted 120 moose throughout their trip, so there must be a lot of them on the Great Northern Peninsula.

Rule of thumb: Slow down and keep alert, especially in the evening, throughout the night and early morning. Moose are beautiful animals to watch and photograph, but can be dangerous when they are on a highway.