The Scariest Wildlife Encounters I’ve Experienced in Connecticut

Have you ever had an owl try to fly into your face while you were driving? Have you ever seen a moose on the side of a busy roadway? I have, and it's terrifying.

The Connecticut State Police have just announced on their social media that a wayward horse was captured this morning after it had escaped from it's home and wandered near the vicinity of the Merritt Parkway. If you've never experienced the joy of traveling Rt. 15 in lower Fairfield County, I can tell you that it's a windy, two-lane roadway that barely has a shoulder in some areas, and it's only wide enough with low-overpasses that commercial vehicles are not allowed. The traffic on the Merritt every day is incredible, and kudos have to be sent out to the Troopers that saved the lives of the horse and the person that would have hit it.

Just last week my wife and I saw a moose on the side of Rt. 8 in Winchester that had been struck by a vehicle. I've never seen one run across the road in front of us, but I'll never forget the first time that I saw one on the side of the highway. This beast had to weigh over 1,000 pounds, and the tip of it's antlers must have been 10 feet above the ground.

The worst accident I've ever been in involving wildlife was in Westport on the Sherwood Island Connecticut off of Exit 18. I struck a deer while I was doing maybe 40MPH, and it totaled my vehicle. I'm not proud of it, but I'm 32-1 against the wildlife of New England. Possum, Raccoon, Squirrel, Bird? I do not fear. Moose, Deer, and Bear? Yikes.