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A male moose that died shortly after being hit by a vehicle in Cortlandt Saturday morning is believed to be the same moose that was on the loose in Northern Westchester since late June.
The moose had to be put down after state police found him on Route 9 near the interchange on Welcher Avenue.
The moose was about 7-feet tall and weighed 800 to 900 pounds.
Prior to Saturday, the moose on the loose had last been sighted on Sunday, July 10 on the side of the road alongside the woods near eastbound Bear Mountain Parkway in Cortlandt at about 10 a.m.
Earlier sightings had been reported in Bedford, Millwood and Ossining.
Moose sightings are extremely rare in southern New York. There are only an estimated 800 moose in the state, with most located far upstate near the Canadian and Vermont borders.
Moose are solitary animals and do not form herds, adding to the likelihood the moose struck by the vehicle was indeed the moose on the loose.
In addition, the moose in all the sightings had small antlers, typical of young male moose. Female moose do not grow antlers, except in extremely rare cases.
Young moose sometimes migrate long distances after being forced out by older males who control the area in which they were born.
This marks the first moose sighting in Northern Westchester since September 2008 when a half-ton moose was killed after being hit by nine vehicles after wandering onto I-684 near Exit 6-A in Goldens Bridge in the early evening.
While most moose/car accidents result in fatalities, just one person suffered injuries in the pileup in which the female moose was killed.
For more on the Ossining sighting, click here.
For Daily Voice's report on the Bedford moose sightings, click here.
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