{"id":1420,"date":"2013-02-05T09:40:47","date_gmt":"2013-02-05T13:40:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.massaudubon.org\/blogs\/yourgreatoutdoors\/?p=1420"},"modified":"2013-02-05T09:40:47","modified_gmt":"2013-02-05T13:40:47","slug":"the-mighty-moose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/the-mighty-moose\/","title":{"rendered":"The Mighty Moose"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MooseEarlier in the season, nature photographer and Mass Audubon volunteer extraordinaire, Richard Johnson, set out to photograph a moose that had been spotted at Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary<\/a><\/strong> in Princeton, Massachusetts.<\/p>\n

Waiting patiently from the safety of his car, telephoto lens ready, Richard snapped this photo when the moose appeared at the edge of a sanctuary meadow. The announcement and photograph on Facebook<\/a> <\/strong>generated much excitement and many folks expressed surprise that moose were in Massachusetts.<\/p>\n

Hiding in Plain Sight<\/strong>
\nAccording to MassWildlife<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0there may be 1,000 or more moose living and breeding in Massachusetts. At Wachusett Meadow, there have been sightings for more than a decade. But that wasn’t always the case.<\/p>\n

Back in the early 1700\u2019s, much of Massachusetts’ forests had been cleared for farming. Since this habitat is essential for moose, they moved on, all but disappearing from our borders. Fast forward to the present, Massachusetts is the\u00a08th most forested state in the country<\/a><\/strong>. So it’s not surprising that moose join the growing list of animals, including\u00a0fishers, eastern coyotes, wild turkeys, and beavers that have\u00a0returned to our neck of the woods.<\/p>\n

For the most part, moose can be found in central and western Massachusetts. Rarely, a moose may even be spotted in the eastern part of the state, like the young moose that wandered through a backyard in Wellesley in June<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Moose Facts
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