Vermont’s occurrence records list 2,310 documented moose sightings, all logged through GBIF rather than casual nature-app photos. That volume points to how systematically aerial surveys and roadside counts get recorded, not to how many moose are currently out there.
Heaviest in the Northeast Kingdom
Moose records concentrate in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, where spruce-fir forest, bogs, and beaver-flooded lowlands in the state’s remote northeastern corner make up some of the best moose country in New England. The species is also recorded through the Green Mountain National Forest’s high-elevation conifer stands, but far less often across the open farmland of the Champlain Valley, which lacks the dense cover and wetland browse moose depend on.
Wetlands in summer, cut-over hardwoods in winter
That habitat split shows up in the monthly record. Reports climb sharply from April through July, matching the season when moose wade into ponds and slow streams to graze aquatic plants rich in sodium, a mineral scarce in their winter diet. Cooler months bring reports back down, when moose shift to browsing twigs and bark in the young hardwood stands that regrow after logging.
Status in Vermont
NatureServe ranks the moose S5, secure, and it’s native to Vermont. Wildlife managers still watch the Northeast Kingdom’s moose closely: winter ticks multiply fast in years with short, mild winters, and heavy tick loads can leave calves anemic by spring. The state has adjusted moose permit numbers in the region’s wildlife management units to help ease that pressure.
Full species profile
