1st Confirmed Moose Sighting At Mount Rainier

MOUNT RAINIER, WA — A moose was spotted inside Mount Rainier National Park this week, marking the first confirmed sighting at the park and all of Southwest Washington, officials said Thursday.

While moose are not totally unknown in Washington, with an estimated 5,000 in the Evergreen State, most live in the mountains of northeast Washington, as The Seattle Times reports.

Thursday's sighting on the west side of the Cascades comes just a few months after cameras recorded a moose utilizing the animal crossing under Interstate 90 at Resort Creek. State wildlife officials confirmed another sighting west of Snoqualmie Pass in September, and believe it could be the same animal. Before this year, a moose had not been seen in western Washington since 2009.

Earlier this week, the Washington State Department of Transportation said cameras at the new Interstate 90 crossings, which allow animals to safely cross beneath the roadway, have recorded more than 20,000 animals since 2015, including cougars, coyotes and bobcats.