About 30 million Americans take trips every year specifically to observe wildlife. When they come to northern New Hampshire, what they most want to see is a moose. To aid them in their quest the state recently opened its first official wildlife observation blind. It is a low tower that looks like a cross between a pioneer fort and a Japanese tea house. It stands just 20 feet from one of the area's busiest moose trails, putting viewers virtually mug to mug with moose, but in reasonable safety.
Safety is an issue.
Nightly in summer, cars and crowds of people clog Route 3 in Pittsburg, along the stretch known as Moose Alley. And whenever a moose appears in a residential area, moose lovers often unintentionally harass the animal. Last month, a gaggle of camera-toting moose watchers chased a young calf so relentlessly that, despite its eventual rescue and care, it died of exhaustion. Although it is noon, a moose has approached the edge of a lick across the road, but it does not come closer. Silverberg tells of a Vermont woman who felt driven to commune with a roadside moose.