The Kennebec Explorer 2015 Visitor's Guide to Maine's Kennebec Valley | Page 6

In search of the Maine MOOSE The only question: who’s watching who? Here in Maine’s Kennebec Valley we love the moose so much that we named it our official animal ambassador. These majestic animals spend so much time welcoming visitors while grazing in the many marshy roadside places that it was time to elevate their status. Best Viewing Times & Spots As you ride up towards the Jackman area, you enter prime moose country. Anywhere along Route 201 — from The Forks to the Canadian border and on Route 15 to Rockwood they can often be seen along logging roads, diving for dinner in wet boggy areas, hanging out in gravel pits and clomping down hiking or snowmobile trails — moose, moose and more moose are what you are apt to spot on any given day. Because of their massive size, moose find it easier to move about in open areas, making it fairly easy to spot one if you are fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time. The best moose viewing experience has to be seeing one in its own element — out in the woods, while you are hiking, snowmobiling or ATVing. Give them a wide berth, and don’t forget your camera! 4 4 The best times to spot moose are at dawn and dusk from mid-May through July. In the fall, during the rut, is a good time to spot a bull with a fully formed rack. Seeing a moose then is a real treat because they’ll soon shed their antlers.