Sighting the Elusive Moose

Despite all the "Danger: Moose Crossing" signs along the roads near Greenville, Maine, the largest land mammal on the continent can prove elusive, so locals have devised several ways to lure flatlanders to look for Alces americana(美洲驼鹿). Would-be moose-watchers can stop by the visitors' center south of town to check recent sightings, but don't expect to see moose on the open waters of Moosehead Lake. Except during the fall rutting season(发情期), the reclusive beasts tend to stick to shady bogs and small ponds to browse on water plants. Any vegetarian that tips the scales at up to 1,300 pounds has to chomp a lot of cress to keep up its strength.

Most visitors try their luck by driving around the back roads. Rudimentary roadways(简易道路) call for either four-wheel drive or great caution, but the ruts and hollows ensure you'll be going slowly enough to spot moose. The bogs beside logging roads off the paved road north of Kokadjo are usually a good bet, as are the ponds east of Greenville offAirport Road.

Driving around hoping to encounter, but not run into, a moose gets tedious. Folsom's Air Service offers a one-hour sightseeing flight that can be the best way to find out where the moose are on a given day. The answer is usually "someplace without roads."

Dedicated wildlife stalkers get closest to moose with a guide and a canoe or kayak. Ed Mathieu, sole proprietor of Moose Country Safaris, considers moose the area's leading natural resource. "They're like our own oil well," he says. "They're why people come in the summer." And while he leads four-wheel-drive excursions(游览团), he prefers to paddle up on moose to get close enough so that they fill the camera's viewfinder.

Mathieu cautions that a telephoto lens is still a good idea. "While you're paddling, that moose might just back out of the water and walk off into the woods," he says. How would you like someone taking snapshots while you stuffed your face?(你愿意在大快朵颐时被人拍照吗?)