Moose in New Mexico? Onlooker’s ‘jaw hit the floor’ after rare sighting at ski resort
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct the location of the sighting.
A moose (you read that right) has been making rounds in New Mexico, and he’s the first known moose to venture that far south, officials said.
Onlookers at a Santa Fe ski resort spotted the ungulate racing toward a parking lot Sunday, Dec. 18. They captured a short video clip of the sighting.
“That thing’ll kill you,” driver Adam Ronan said as the moose passed by their car, The Santa Fe New Mexican reported. The couple sent the video to local news outlets, including KUNM public radio.
Wildlife officials believe it may be the same moose spotted in the past couple of months in Questa and near Mora.
“It may not be outside the realm of possibility it is the same one,” Darren Vaughan, a spokesman for the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, told The New Mexican.
A sighting in Mora in November was considered the southernmost known sighting of a moose in New Mexico, the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish said in a news release at the time. And the Santa Fe ski resort where a young bull moose was most recently seen was more than 50 miles southwest of there.
There have been about half a dozen confirmed sightings of moose in New Mexico in the last decade, officials said in the release. Most of those were younger males in search of new habitats and breeding opportunities.
Females have also been spotted in New Mexico, “but there is no indication that moose are becoming established here nor are they expected to become established here in the future,” wildlife officials said.
Ungulates like moose require a “cool climate and wetland habitat next to rivers and streams” — making Colorado a more suitable moose habitat, officials said. Generally speaking, moose should be drawn back to Colorado after venturing south to New Mexico.
They are protected game animals in New Mexico, and the state does not have an open hunting season for moose, meaning it’s illegal to hunt them. This particular moose is safe and appears healthy, officials said.
“It is not in a location where it is causing a threat to public safety; however, the department reminds residents that moose can be dangerous and should not be approached for any reason.”
Ski Santa Fe mountain manager Jack Dant told The New Mexican his “jaw hit the floor” when he saw the video clip of the moose jaunting through the resort.
“I have never in a lifetime of skiing up here and 21 years of working up here seen or heard of a moose,” he told the outlet.
This story was originally published December 20, 2022 at 2:03 PM with the headline "Moose in New Mexico? Onlooker’s ‘jaw hit the floor’ after rare sighting at ski resort."
