MOOSE ON THE MOVE A SIGN OF THE TIMES.(MAIN)

Byline: CATHY WOODRUFF Staff writer

The black-on-yellow silhouettes of strolling horses, leaping stags and lolling dairy cows are familiar sights for motorists who regularly wheel around New York's rural areas.

Now there's a new animal joining the roadside gallery.

Meet the moose.

As more moose migrate into the state, officials want to help motorists avoid a costly encounter with one of the 1,500-pound beasts.

Six moose warning signs now greet motorists along a stretch of Route 28N in the scenic town of Newcomb, Essex County. They are the first to go up in the state Department of Transportation's Region One, a sprawling eight-county area based in Schenectady.

The signs are commonplace in Vermont and Maine, which have larger, well-established populations of the large antlered animals, and more could spring up here as the moose multiply.

``We've had several moose sightings here in the town,'' said Newcomb Supervisor George Canon, …