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Modern-day moose are still on the move. Experts say
they're now thriving in a new landscape where habitat changes -- spurred
by human influences -- which has allowed them to break out of isolated
strongholds.
"Forty years ago a moose was like
an exotic -- it was like a giraffe. Nobody had any moose. "They've really
spread since then."
Lewis and Clark never saw a moose when they crossed
200 years ago, and trappers' journals note moose as rare occurrences.
In 1939, Wyoming had 1,000 moose. Today, the state
has an estimated population of 15,000 to 25,000 Shiras moose, more than
any other state.
The Shiras moose is the smallest subspecies,
inhabiting parts of the Rocky Mountain West. A bull averages less than 800
pounds -- about half the size of an Alaska Yukon moose.
Experts say smaller moose can better cope with
warmer temperatures and live farther south. The result is booming
populations across the region. Wyoming now has as many as 10,000 moose,
Utah has about 4,500, Montana is home to 5,000, and Washington has about
1,000, mostly in the northeast corner of the state.
"Moose may have been at low densities [200 years
ago]," said Joel Berger, a senior scientist with the New York-based
Wildlife Conservation Society and a professor at the University of
Montana. "Certainly not at the densities we see today."
Logging and development are credited with opening up
areas and allowing the growth of shrubs, the main ingredient in a moose's
diet. At the same time, predators were largely killed off from wide areas
of moose territory.
"Habitat disturbance caused by industry has favored
some wildlife species, moose being one," said Berger, who conducted a
10-year study of moose in Grand Teton National Park. "And with the
historic loss of grizzly bears and wolves, until the 1990s, there were
huge areas of the North West that had good vegetation and no large
carnivores.
"Shiras Moose are all of a sudden like a
kid in a candy store!"
Females give birth at the same time
but far apart from each other. That limits how many calves could be killed
by predators and female moose will defend their young.
The population boom has been a boon for hunters, who
have made them one of the most sought-after big game animals in states were
they exist. Hunting permits are limited, and some states restrict them to
once in a lifetime.
The question is how long the boom can
last.
In states where wolves and grizzlies are rebounding,
biologists wonder how many moose are falling victim to these predators.
Studies found that 2% of moose deaths in Grand Teton National Park were due
to wolves. About 15% died from grizzly attacks.
The rest fell victim to starvation, hunters or vehicle
accidents.
Warming temperatures could hinder moose populations,
particularly along the southern tier of their current range, since the
animals don't care for temperatures above 55 degrees.
Changing logging practices also could mean changes for
the moose.
Logged forests tend to produce the kind of browse
moose like for about 10 to 30 years, before it's not productive for moose.
However, logging has slowed in some areas.
In Utah, most of the moose are in the northeastern
part of the state, said the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
"The population has been going up steadily since the
1930s or so," they said. "I think it's just different land-use patterns.
Logging and so on has created better habitat. But current land use has kind
of changed, so we've reached the point where we're no longer growing our
moose herd so much."
Therein lies one more threat: human population
expanding into moose habitat. Moose encounters with humans are growing in
some areas.
"With habitat constantly declining, HWO suspects we're
at the limit of what Shiras Moose can do as far as expanding!!!"
But who knows, they're a surprising Big
Game Animal.
Please Click Here to view some of
our clients Trophy Shiras Moose photos. |
