A family in Questa, N.M., got a glimpse of something most people in the state don’t get to see: a moose.
Kevin Montoya and his family got to experience the rare sighting on their property in Questa. “We came around the corner, getting back to our house, our dogs had like they had seen a ghost,” he told KRQE. “They had a blank stare on their face, (indicating) something’s going on.”
Once Montoya spotted the moose, his first instant was to get proof of the rare sighting. “We’re freaking out trying to get our cameras out to get a good video of it,” he said. “And luckily, we got a video, but I don’t think nobody would have believed us if we wouldn’t have got the video.”
Ryan Darr, who works with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, confirmed moose sightings are special events. “Over the past ten years or so, we’ve had approximately five confirmed moose sightings in the state,” he told KRQE. He said moose periodically move into New Mexico looking for new habitats for breeding opportunities, but normally don’t stay very long.
“Generally, they find out that this is not the best place for them and turn around and head back to the north,” Darr said. “There’s no indication that moose are establishing a population in New Mexico, and the Department of Game and Fish does not expect an established population in the future.”
Meanwhile, Montoya will remain on the lookout for more moose. “It was cool to see,” he said. “I know that they’re… that it can be really aggressive. So I mean, definitely got to watch out with the kids in the yard and stuff now.”
KRQE reported that according to Colorado’s fact sheet, a moose can become aggressive when it puts its ears back and rolls its eyes. The subspecies that lives there can reach up to six feet tall at the shoulders, weigh up to a thousand pounds, and run up to 35 miles an hour.