by Julie Gowel ·
Friday, April 24, 2026
Moose looking for acorns perhaps? (Courtesy photo)
You won’t find a moose at the Stone Zoo in Stoneham, the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, Southwick’s Zoo in Mendon, or even the much larger Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, Rhode Island.
You know where you might find one, though? Oak Hill Road in Harvard.
For a few residents in town, early April brought more than unpredictable weather. On Friday morning, April 3, around 7:30 a.m., Slough Road resident Jenn Gavin was out for a jog when something didn’t sound quite right.
“I heard this thumping, even through the music,” she said of the noise she could make out above the sound in her headphones. “It almost sounded like a horse, but bigger.”
Bigger, indeed. Gavin quickly realized she was jogging alongside a moose.
“I looked over, and between the grass and the orchard, [it was] just galloping down this path,” Gavin said. “I could barely even pull out my phone fast enough because I wanted to take a picture!”
“It looked a little frightened,” she said.
After encountering Gavin, the moose made its way onto the home orchard of the Greens, of Westward Orchards, on Oak Hill Road.
The Westward Wanderer made Kerri Green do a double take as she hurried through her morning routine.
“I looked out the kitchen window, and I saw the moose walking through the woods toward my house.” Moments later, it became clear this wasn’t going to be a quick pass-through. The moose had wandered into a fenced section of the property and, like many animals before it, couldn’t quite figure out how to get back out. “He was stuck in the orchard for a few hours,” Green said. “Poor guy.”
Green explained that many animals, particularly deer, find themselves in a similar predicament. She said it’s rare she or her family have to intervene, explaining that deer are usually adept at following the fence line until they find the break that allows them to escape. The moose, however, was out of its element and required a bit of assistance.
Green’s daughter, Ella, a junior at the Bromfield School, captured video as the moose finally made its way out of the orchard and trotted off to destinations unknown.
To answer that, I spoke with Martin Feehan, deer and moose biologist and wildlife health specialist with the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.
“My responsibilities are over all cervids in the state,” said Feehan in a phone interview. “So that includes all the wild white-tailed deer and the moose as the two native species, as well as oversight of all captive deer within the state.”
And yes, moose are native to Massachusetts. Feehan said the farthest east they are typically spotted is the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge in the Sudbury and Stow areas. Based on eye witness descriptions and photographic evidence, Feehan believes the Westward Wanderer is a yearling female, which is essentially a teenager in moose terms, and explains how she ended up in a local orchard.
“It’s likely being kicked out by her mom right now, because we’re right at the beginning of calving season,” said Feehan. “A young female will be a little disoriented, may act a little funny, and that’s because they don’t have their mom telling them what to do anymore. They’re being pushed out.”
Feehan said Gavin’s description of the moose’s confused behavior further supported his theory of the yearling’s situation. During calving season, the yearlings will travel within 15-20 miles of their home before eventually finding a place to settle. Unlike deer, moose are largely solitary animals, and once pushed out, young moose don’t return to a family group, regardless of how its range may overlap with the familiar territory.
Moose are the largest members of the deer family, and they eat like it. “They really love the buds on apple trees,” Feehan said. “A single moose can do the damage of 10 to 15 deer. They can reach much higher portions of those apple trees, so they can do damage at higher heights than deer.”
What should you do if you come across a moose? According to Feehan, enjoy the rare moment. “They tend to stay in an area for only a short period of time,” he said. “They’ll move on.”
“It’s an incredible opportunity to be able to see a moose,” said Feehan. “Most Massachusetts residents have never seen a moose and likely will never see a moose in their lifetime.”
While enjoying the moment, be mindful of the fact that moose are not like deer. They don’t always run. “They’ll typically stand their ground and charge,” Feehan warned. That includes interactions with dogs, so if you encounter one while on a walk, you should leash your pet and head in the opposite direction.
We live alongside wildlife in this town of abundant conservation land. We have an alpaca ranch, an emu farm, and even a chic chicken resort. We warn each other about bears at bird feeders. We search for three-legged lost dogs in the woods. And now, apparently, we track moose.
Editor’s note: The “Town Tails” column will be a place to explore tales about the creatures that share our space. There are plenty of stories to go around, so feel free to share yours—it could help your neighbors, bipeds and quadrupeds alike.