Rare moose spotted in Northern N.M.

A moose was last sighted in New Mexico in 2017 in Chama.

TAOS — Drivers in Northern New Mexico were treated to a rare sighting Tuesday when a moose decided to take a stroll near Costilla.

Walking along N.M. 522, the visiting moose was the subject of several photos and phone calls to wildlife offices, as the sighting marked a rare occasion in New Mexico wildlife history.

“This is the third moose that I have heard of in Northern New Mexico in 23 years,” said Clint Henson, captain of northeast field operations for the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. “It’s definitely not unheard of. Young bulls like that tend to move and try and find new territory.”

A moose was last sighted on this side of the Colorado border in 2017 in Chama.

Colorado introduced the shiras subspecies of moose in the 1970s to some of that state’s northern reaches. In the 1990s, the species was introduced near Creede, Colo., about 60 miles from the New Mexico border.

Shiras are slightly smaller than moose found in Alaska and have slightly smaller antlers than their northern cousins.

“They have really thrived in all the areas we have brought them into,” Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman Rebecca Ferrell said. “There is now even some limited licenses [for hunting] in the state.” Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado have similar climates and biomes, so it is not uncommon for the animals to roam within their habitats, wildlife biologists say. Still, moose sightings remain rare. “I was shocked when I saw the thing, and I said, ‘That’s not a cow,’ ” joked Bob Friedrichs, who spotted the moose. “All this country is sagebrush, so it’s not typical moose habitat.” This story first appeared in the Taos News, a sister publication of the Santa Fe New Mexican.

COURTESY PHOTO Moose have been introduced to Colorado over the past several decades and rarely migrate south. This moose was spotted near Costilla, N.M.