It is the second reported moose sighting this year, after American hikers Norbert Nigon and Virginia Schuning also claimed to have spotted the mysterious beast in March, just two weeks earlier.
“We were the first on the trail, as we left at sunrise … The animal was near the river, between the river and the trail, and when it heard us, it jumped over the trail and went into the forest,” Bourgeois said.
A moose photographed in Fiordland in 1952. Photo / NZME
Bourgeois, who was leading the group, estimated they were about 25m from the animal when they encountered it.
“The animal was very large, as large as a horse and even larger. Dark brown, with no colour gradation, but a fairly uniform colour for the parts I saw,” she said.
“I saw antlers without velvet, quite long and without branches, so with only one branch.”
Another member of the group, Antoine Beauchamp, described the animal as unmistakably moose-like.
“We all instantly thought, without talking to each other, that it was a moose,” Beauchamp said.
“As three Canadians that do a lot of outdoor sports, hiking and canoeing, we were struck by the fact that this animal looked exactly like a Canadian moose. The shape of the body and of the antlers as well (probably a young moose), the colour and the size of it was unmistakable.”
The animal disappeared into the dense forest, and the group was unable to capture a photo or video.
Bourgeois and her companions mentioned the encounter casually to Tracknet driver Brenda Thomas during a shuttle ride from Rainbow Reach to Te Anau.
Do moose still exist in the wild of Fiordland? Photo / Alex Fergus
They said they were unaware New Zealand had any history of moose presence.
“They weren’t aware that New Zealand had moose here, but had just seen one that morning, a young male, that they had disturbed alongside the track,” Thomas said.
Thomas relayed the encounter to the Department of Conservation, which eventually connected the Canadian hikers with veteran moose researcher Ken Tustin.
Bourgeois, who holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and a master’s in environmental law, said she was initially cautious about her interpretation.
“I’m increasingly convinced that it was a moose, because after looking at photos and descriptions of red deer, they don’t quite match what I saw - especially in terms of the colour and size of the animal,” she said.
Bourgeois added that she has completed a Canadian Hunting Education Course and has extensive personal experience distinguishing between deer and moose.
“I know very well how to distinguish between deer and moose and I have seen them several times. So I am certain that it was not a deer at all, especially because of the size of the animal.”
While emphasising she cannot be absolutely certain without photographic evidence, Bourgeois said the combination of size, colour, behaviour, and her Canadian wilderness experience strongly supported the moose hypothesis.
The sighting came just over two weeks after American visitors Norbert Nigon and Virginia Schuning reported seeing a moose in the same area of the Kepler Track on March 13.
Moose hunter Ken Tustin with one of the many cameras he's used to try and photograph the elusive moose.
Ken Tustin, who has spent decades researching the elusive Fiordland moose, said the two independent reports so close together were “highly significant”.
“The Canadians’ background, combined with the nature of the sighting, makes it a strong and credible report,” Tustin said.
“That it follows closely after Nigon’s sighting, an extraordinarily capable observer, is an extraordinary coincidence.”
Tustin suggested the animals’ movement could be driven by depleted forest forage or the search for mates during the rut.
He said one of the most telling aspects of both sightings was the absence of a pale rump patch, which distinguishes moose from red deer or elk.
Tustin encourages anyone who believes they have seen a moose to come forward, saying every credible record contributes to understanding the species’ status in New Zealand.
