Moose

   I've often wondered why we have the moose as one symbol associated with our country, Canada. It is a huge animal, the largest in the deer family. It's antlers distinguish it because the antlers have a broad plate that no other deer have. While it's found all over Canada it does not reach up to the very far north like the caribou. That's because the moose is an herbivore and must stay close to lots of vegetation, unlike the caribou, an omnivore, that moves around in the fat north.
   While I am fascinated by all the facts I cannot come up with an answer to how it became a symbol  for our huge nation. It just is,eh?
In the city of Toronto in the year 2000 one mayor made the moose a promotional item, Moose in the City as part of a dream campaign for the bid of the 2008 olympics. Statues of over 326 moose began to appear all over the city. They were uniquely decorated pieces of art that were scattered in odd locations. They were up for sale on line too. With so many one could play games like 'how many moose did you spot today', but over the years they have thinned out. I guess maintaining them was costing too much? Some are now at dumpsites.
But these moose cause no road kill to humans.
   Oh Canada and oh Newfoundland, where the moose is too plentiful. The moose..Ah...just be careful if you drive in that province. There are frequent accidents and even deaths by moose on the highways. The animal just comes out of nowhere and then there's no time to brake. It crushes a car by its sheer weight since the bulls weigh over 600kg. With  an average of 600-800 accidents yearly and at at least two deaths it's a bad situation for a place where the human population of about 525,000 is only 3.5 times that of the moose estimated to be 150,000. Not only is the animal huge so is its number!
   The reason for so many moose on the island is it that there are no natural predators. The animals were bought from the mainland, two in 1880's and four in 1902. The original six have managed to grow very quickly. To date the people are looking for ways to curb them. What options do they have? I have no answer. But I do have a tidbit of interest for some of you.
   Check out a CBC.ca/news/newfoundland for a story of May 5,2012. It reports that a woman ran into a moose and drove 40km without realizing it even though her windshield was gone and her roof torn up. Seems the impact caused her to loose the memory of that actual event on contact but not of anything else. It's reported she was on her way to work. When she drove into the company driveway her coworkers came running out to her to see if she was okay. She had no idea why they were so concerned. Take a look at her car. Lucky survivor.
   So why the moose interest just now? Last year, for Canada Day, I wore a T-shirt that had a moose logo and Toronto on it. Buddy took this picture of me at the time and he was very happy with its outcome (and even more joyous that I chose to post it here). I will wear it again if I can find it by Sunday and then I'll add a new hat for the occasion. However my curiosity about the moose thing is not satisfied. I still have no clue how or why the moose is a Canadian symbol. Any ideas on where I might get that information?

   Have a super weekend everyone and stay safe and away from any moose on the road especially in Newfoundland.

P.S I didn't put a direct link to the CBC article because they didn't include blogger as a share option and there are copyright laws that I still need to understand.