Moose still on the loose in Windsor Locks
A moose has been lingering, with no obvious reason, in the area around Interstate 91 in Windsor Locks, according to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
DEEP posted an alert about sightings over the past several weeks of a young bull moose in the area of I-91 and Route 20. The agency’s Environmental Conservation police spotted the animal in woods Wednesday in the area of the Dexter Coffin Bridge, so the moose has been moving north, “in the right direction,” DEEP wildlife biologist Andrew LaBonte said.
The bull, however, has been in the general area since mid-October, LaBonte said, and biologists are not sure why it is hanging around.
“It doesn’t seem like a particularly good spot for a moose,” he said.
There are swampy spots in the area, but moose prefer a regenerating forest habitat this time of year, LaBonte said. In any case, EnCon police reported that the animal appears healthy and the hope is that it keeps moving away from highways and populated areas, he said. The moose is not considered an immediate public safety threat, but DEEP will continue to monitor its movements, LaBonte said.
Drivers should be especially careful around dawn and dusk when moose are most active, DEEP cautioned. Collisions with moose can be particularly hazardous and sometimes fatal because of the animals’ height and tendency to crash through vehicle windshields when hit. Anyone who sees a moose on a roadway is asked to call DEEP Environmental Conservation police at 860-424-3333.
Although most of Connecticut’s 100-150 resident moose are clustered in Hartland in woods around the Barkhamsted Reservoir, Windsor Locks has had more than a few sightings in recent years.
In early October, a young bull moose that trotted through an auto dealership’s lot recently may have been looking for a mate, LaBonte said at the time. The approximately 11⁄2-year-old animal hoofed through Auto Direct LLC on Ella Grasso Turnpike near Bradley International Airport over the weekend. The animals’ breeding season, however, ends in October. LaBonte said Wednesday he is not sure whether this is the same animal that has been sighted recently.
In June, a moose had to be euthanized after it breached an outer perimeter fence near Bradley International Airport, according to DEEP. Last year, there were seven sightings in seven days in Windsor Locks.