Michelle Theriault Boots

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A dull-brown moose with a prominent rack steps delicately on to Anchorage's Minnesota Drive in the January afternoon twilight, as cars streak past.

He stops traffic as he ambles into deep snow on the edge of the road -- barely avoiding becoming part of the growing ranks of the winter's unlucky moose.

For moose, heavy snowfall means misery, and this winter is shaping up to be a deadly one.