Free: Contests & Raffles.
Part of the problem they say is climate change?!!! Wth! Wolf loving bio’s maybe looking for other excuses?
http://www.startribune.com/moose-populations-the-thick-and-thin-of-it/412741063/Oh look, another article.....Two different moose stories have made headlines in Minnesota in recent months.One story tells of a long, ongoing moose decline in northern Minnesota. Since 2006, the state’s moose population has plummeted by more than 55 percent, according to surveys by the Department of Natural Resources. State moose researchers say the odds of reversing the downward trend aren’t good.The other moose story is quite different. It tells of a moose population explosion. Surveys indicate the moose herd in question has been increasing by a whopping 19 percent a year. Plus, the survival rate of calf moose is extremely high, perhaps the highest ever recorded, researchers say.Two moose stories; two different realities and … only 20 miles apart.While Minnesota moose are slowly disappearing, the moose on Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior — a mere 20 miles off Minnesota’s North Shore — are approaching historic highs, according to 2016 surveys.Hey, you can’t make this stuff up.So what is causing Minnesota’s moose numbers to plummet while the island moose count soars?DNR wildlife researchers have been seeking the answers to Minnesota’s moose problems for decades. What is known is that Minnesota’s moose are dying for a variety of reasons. Of more importance, is there anything to be done to eliminate or reduce these mortality factors to save Minnesota’s moose?It depends on who is asked.If you asked many Minnesota deer hunters and others who spend time in the North Woods, the answer would be: “Get rid of some wolves.”DNR wildlife researchers typically scoff at such theories, correctly noting that moose and wolves have coexisted for a long time. Even as the state’s moose count continued to decline, DNR officials were reluctant to even suggest that the high density of wolves in the state could be a leading moose problem.In 2009, a state Moose Advisory Committee report — after reviewing a range of moose topics — came to the conclusion that stress from global warming may be the primary reason for the decline, along with other causes of mortality, such as winter ticks, poor nutrition (a habitat issue) and a parasitic brainworm (carried by whitetail deer). The 45-page report made no mention of wolf or bear predation.In January 2016, DNR moose researchers announced they were on the brink of discovering what is killing Minnesota’s moose. The suspects: poor health and increased predation. Using radio-collared moose, researchers investigated 47 moose fatalities and found that roughly 66 percent died of illnesses, such as brain worms, winter ticks, bacterial infections, liver flukes and severe malnutrition.The other adult moose (33 percent) were killed by wolves, the DNR said, adding that one-third of the wolf kills possibly can be attributed to those moose already weakened by illnesses and vulnerable to wolf attacks. In a DNR study of moose calf mortalities, researchers tracking radio-collared moose calves found that 67 percent of them had been killed by wolves.In a 2014 Star Tribune news story, renowned wolf researcher Dave Mech said he thinks wolves are playing a bigger role in the decline of northeast Minnesota moose than originally believed. He also discounted the idea that climate change was a major cause of moose mortality.Nevertheless, DNR moose researchers last year contended that more study is needed, saying it could take another six years before the DNR had enough “data to determine long-term mortality trends and causes.”Meanwhile, the moose decline shows no signs of stopping.Minnesota’s moose population has plunged roughly 60 percent, from more than 8,000 animals in 2006 to fewer than 3,500 in 2015. Moose hunting was halted in 2013 by the DNR. Last fall, three Minnesota Chippewa Indian tribes, citing 1854 treaty rights, renewed their off-reservation hunting season for bull moose only.So what explains the moose population explosion happening not far away on Isle Royale?It’s a much simpler story. It’s the wolves. They’re almost gone. At last count, two wolves remain on Isle Royale, down from an average of about 25.This is a classic predator-prey plot to the extreme. For nearly a half century, moose and wolves have had a teeter-totter relationship documented by wildlife scientists on Isle Royale since 1958.Rather than a so-called balance of nature, researchers found a dynamic tension: When the moose declined due to excessive wolf predation, eventually the wolves themselves declined for lack of moose meat; with fewer wolves hunting on the island, the moose population bounced back, after which wolves slowly increased as well. Such is the game of predator-prey.
just getting started. WA will be half the tag numbers in 10 years or lessI know a guy who runs lots of cams in unit 1 in ID he would get 30-40 bull moose a year on cam 10 years ago this year he got 1
