At the mating season peaks for moose and deer in Connecticut, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is warning drivers to remain vigilant for increased deer and moose activity near roads.
The prime mating season for northern Connecticut's growing moose population is September through October and will soon peak for deer late October through late December, DEEP reported.
“During 2013, approximately 7,300 deer were killed in the state due to collisions with vehicles,” Rick Jacobson, director of DEEP's Wildlife Division said in a statement. “A total of 25 moose-vehicle accidents have been reported in Connecticut between 1995 and 2014, with an average of two per year since 2002.... Moose-vehicle accidents are expected to increase as the moose population expands.”
If you see a deer or moose on or near the road when you're driving, DEEP advises you to slow down and drive defensively. Moose stand taller than deer, increasing the chance they'll land on windshields when hit by cars, and are more difficult to see than deer because of they're darker coloring, DEEP officials said. As a result, "observing reflective eye-shine from headlights is infrequent" due to their height.
Moose usual live in areas ranging from 10 to 15 square feet, according to DEEP. When moose travel to southern Connecticut in densely populated areas with high traffic on the roadways breaking up the state's landscape, the chance for driver fatalities in moose-car accidents are heightened even more than the potential for deer-vehicle crashes, DEEP officials said.
DEEP asks drivers to heed any "Deer Crossing" signs highway departments put up along roadways and to report any collisions with moose and deer to local or state police or DEEP Environmental Conservation police officers at 860-424-3333.
DEEP also asks residents to report moose sightings on its website at www.ct.gov/deep/wildlife.
