Moose and traffic go hand-in-hand in Alaska. With so many moose in or near urban areas, there’s plenty of opportunity for the largest member of the deer family to interact with Alaskans while we are driving.
Clearly this often results in a very hazardous situation for Alaskans behind the wheel, as being involved in a moose versus car collision can often result in a much different outcome than someone driving a Ford Taurus in rural Indiana striking a 125 pound whitetail deer. This would be more like someone in rural Indiana colliding with a wayward Holstein…its just that our wayward cattle come in the from of moose, and often big bull moose sporting massive antlers as well!
In this video captured by John Walsh, you see a very large Alaskan bull moose walking down the middle of a two-lane road in the heart of Alaska’s largest city, Anchorage. Being this close to these huge animals gives you a great appreciation for their sheer size!
You can see that this cow moose, although very large in size, can move very quickly onto the roadway. You can also see that moose hooves are not adapted to getting traction on asphalt and paved surfaces and once the moose enters the roadway, it immediately falls down and has to scramble to get back up, jump the guardrail and move to safety!
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