Deer and Moose population dynamics in Wolf country

[smnduck]

I was curious about how the population of wolves has affected the deer and moose populations but can not find any recent studies relating to northern Mn. I saw one for Isle Royal Park, but I'm more interested in th areas where the moose population is dropping. Areas without wolves seem to have rising moose populations, like the plains of North Dakota.

[Arctic]

Deer populations have been near an all-time high in Minnesota in recent years. Wolves (roughly 3,000 animals, state-wide) have little impact on the over-all deer herd. They kill roughly 60,000 deer annually in Minnesota, compared to roughly a quarter million by hunters, and who-knows-how-many by cars. Winter and the number of antlerless permits are the biggest factors influencing the deer herd.

Moose may be in trouble in Minnesota, although the reasons are not clear. The NW herd has almost disappeared in the last 20 years, and the NE herd may be in a slow decline. Mortality there is abnormally high. An ongoing study has shown unusually high amounts of disease and parasites in the moose herd, including brainworm.

Deer are far more tolerant of brainworm than moose are, and caribou are even less tolerant than moose ( a big reason caribou disappeared from Minnesota 80 years ago). Deer have been at high population levels in the moose range in recent years. I see them now in parts of the BWCA where I have never seen them before ( I've travelled that area frequently for 30 years).

One theory states that the recent high frequency of summer heat waves and mild winters has stressed moose and made conditions more hospitable to parasites, as our moose herd is at the extreme southern end of their range.