Maine White Moose - Reality or Myth?

Mind you, I know I'm not the last authority on Moose in Maine or anywhere else for that matter! After my initial excitement over the possibility of even one white moose roaming the woods of Maine I immediately started plotting how I would verify the story, and when and how I would go in search of them! From the beginning there were warning signs. The television station that aired the story didn't respond to my first or second email. Hmmph! Ok...

Other issues including my computer and my "bionic" leg kept my attention to details at bay until finally about a week ago the answer arrived on my doorstep. I've already given Richard, my ex-husband and now best friend, credit for most of what I know about where to look for moose, so I might as well admit he had the answer. Richard stopped by to help me with a computer problem and I asked him about making a road trip with us. He knows me too well, and instantly replied, "I'm not going to waste my time going to Greenville to find white moose that don't exist!" This is where I also admit we usually see different sides of every coin and I was already bristling, readying my defense when he added, "at least three friends I talk to every day have told me those pictures have been circulating on the internet for years now..." Again, Hmmph!

I didn't argue the point with Richard, but couldn't imagine that those two particular pictures had been out there and I hadn't seen them. For the last seven years people have been sending me emails or links to everything that has ANYTHING to do with moose, any where and any color! I have seen the pictures that circulate of white moose in Canada, Idaho, and Norway (the country). I've even seen a white bull moose bagged by hunters in Canada, that had been stuffed, mounted, and ended up in a New England sporting goods store. This moose I recognized from a photo on a Canadian site http://www.whitemoose.ca When I mentioned it to Joel, webmaster of that site, he affirmed my suspicion that it was the same moose.

The thought that there were more pictures out there I just hadn't seen finally surfaced. I began searching the internet for white moose and was joined by an email friend from NY. We talked back and forth as we found new sites, stories, & pictures. After reading several of them we came across one that rang out to me... Here were the pictures -- and the mention of Maine in the same sentence made it obvious how, in this case at least, the story started.. I think we found the original truth about the pictures. Several more sites had these same pictures and all that I looked at attributed the pictures to Bathurst, New Brunswick.

There, on someone's blog, were the pictures I had seen on tv. Beneath the pictures it is clearly stated: ".... photos of twin albino moose shot near Bathurst, New Brunswick, Canada back in September. The road reminds me of the route between Greenville and Kokadjo, Maine.."

I'm not in any way trying to imply the owner of the site started the rumor! Not at all. I'm just saying I think someone read this and misinterpreted it, or in the true nature of a game of gossip, perhaps the truth was lost as the story was repeated to others. To see the photos and the article I quoted, please go to http://schreinervideo.blogspot.com/2007/01/albino-moose-pictures.html

My friend offered sympathy when I said, "Well, that's it then!" She said it must be a let down, and yeah, it is in a way, but it's like I told her -- I just like knowing, and now I do! There's satisfaction in that.


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