Moose Hunt being Suspended

[NowthenJoe]

The brainworm (Parelaphostrongylus tenuis) does not affect whitetail deer, however, other animals, such as moose, can be severely affected.

Has there been an increase in the whitetail deer population in that area by chance?

[CaptainMusky]

74% of the deaths are "unknown"? Is that because they didnt recover the carcass to inspect or werent able to determine cause of death? Probably a combination of both.

Really sad to hear the decline.

I had such a fun time "living" nowiser's hunt though his posts and thought it would be something awesome to experience with my boys. Now that may never happen.

[shooter_mcgavin]

I know from practical experience that when whitails move in the moose seem to move out.

I agree. Not sure if the problem is a result of high deer density, or if its the envoronmental changes that allow higher deer density that is driving moose out, but there seems to be correlation.

I'm glad the DNR finally has the resources to get this figured out. That 74% mortality for unknown reasons should become a lot more clear over the next year.

[NoWiser]

Moose Research Project

Attached is a link to the research project that is going on as we speak. There is some interesting stuff going on. You can sign up to receive email updates on the project. I signed up last week but have not received any emails yet.

I emailed the guy who coordinates the aerial moose count yesterday with a couple of questions. He said that the mood is pretty somber in their office the last couple of days with the results of this year's counts. I really hope they can get some answers. They want to figure this thing out even worse than the rest of us. He didn't sound too optimistic about the future of moose in MN, though. It's sad to think about a Minnesota with no moose.

[Musky Buck]

I'm sure many of you saw last nights news feeds and was it WCCO tried to fly with and spot 1 and they never saw any ? The guy who used to give tours by plane had to quit that as he could no longer guarantee spotting any. Did they guess roughly 100 in the NW and around 2,700 in the NE ? And tribal shot less than a hundred so 90 some, I sure hope they have to stop that hunt also or doing the math with the decline they'll all be gone in 15 years if they take near a 100 each year with roughly that many or so dying yearly as it is. However we slice it, it's a bad situation, perfect time for animal groups to contribute.

[zepman]

Thanx for the link NoWiser.

[Early Riser]

We lived in the Hovland about 1.5 miles inland from Lake Supeior from 89 to 98. During that time we frequently had moose in our yard, garden, on the roads, including down by the lake often near Paradise Beach, Tomsonite Beach, Arrowhead Trail, and all over the Grand Portage reservation where I worked and often explored. I can't count the times I ran into them hunting for grouse or deer. Their sign was everywhere, including tracks, fresh dropping, rubs and lots of shed antlers I picked up that decorate our cabin and home. There were the same number of bear, wolves and deer during that time as well.

We still have our property there and are up often. I can count the moose I have seen on two hands since we moved away. Now a lot of the sign I find are moose bones from the dead. I think the biggest difference negatively impacting the overall health of the animals is the hotter/drying cycle we are in, as well as the fact that logging activity has decresed dramatically resulting in a decrease in the quality of their food and cover that also harbored the grouse, the numbers of which have decreased as well in some of the areas I frequent. The deer are still around in about the same numbers as they seem more tolerant of the heat and make more use of the edges and browse along roads, the ever increasing driveways and other openings that the moose don't seem to like to hang around as often.

[Musky Buck]

Thanks for the report early riser, how do you answer the guy who will type next what about Maine ? Was last July the highest month on average temp wise ever since records were kept ? Sorry I ask dumb questions but if that's the case wouldn't they be more apt to die then, maybe they are ? Why are they dying then in the winter like the one the other day ? I guess I'm asking is their a pattern to them dying like a certain month or season of the year or something or is it really random or is that a part of what they're hoping to figure out ?

[kkahmann]

I don't believe it is weather related--I keep records. It was very hot and dry thru the 70's resulting in some massive forest fires in 1980. Decade of the 80's was nothing unusual and the 90's were really hot and dry resulting in our worst fire year ever in 1998. Depth of snow was very high in 95 &96 and very cold especially winter of 91.

Last few years seems pretty average--normal or less on snow cover--average wintertime temps.

Early riser got me thinking about something--when wolves kill a moose the bones are generally so scattered it is hard to find any of them. Bears are a little different--they tend to pile the bones up and like wolves will return to the site of kill even months after the fact.

Interesting discussion considering I'm generally anti-wolf. Wolves belong in the Boreal forest where they have always been--not out in some farmers cow pasture.

[Early Riser]

Interesting observations that also got me thinking. When there were a lot of moose around our old homestead the bones I found were often scattered and it was not uncommon to find odd moose bones here and there. The bones I have been finding more recently have tended to be relatively intact, like they died there naturally rather than being pulled apart by predators.

I agree that warm/cold cycles have occurred before that didn't seem to result in huge die offs.

Although an informal conversation with an elder indicated that he thought the combination of hot and dry weather was part of the problem.

The gentleman from Ontario noted a lot of moose around the Thunder Bay district, where there are increasing deer numbers as well.

I still wonder about the impact of less logging activity affecting their browse and cover as the forrest becomes more mature, but then again they seem to be suffering as well in areas in the BWCA where there has not been any logging for a long time; although maybe there is not as much of a decline there based on Nowiser's observations from his last moose hunt and all the sign he and his father's party found.

Grand Portage hired a biologist to help them study the moose population dynamics there. This is a big deal there as well. The band members have traditionally enjoyed bountiful seasons in the past and rely on moose hunting out of a strong tradition, as well as a great source of good food. I heard last year from some friends that there were more sightings and moose shot last season than the last few years. They promote as much logging as possible on the 55,000 acre reservation lands done in a biologically sound way to promote wildlife, particularly moose.

I heard something within the last year or so about a theory involving a snail that carries something pernicious that gets to moose brain after they are incidentally eaten while moose are browsing in water. The cycle of this snail is in some relationship to, or transportation by whitetail deer.

[jlm]

I have observed two moose which appeared to have the brain parasite. Both were about 20 years ago. One in particular was difficult to watch. It was a mature cow that essentially ran in circles for hours (really tight circles, almost like it was chasing its tail). Weirdest thing I ever saw. Called the CO back then and the sheriff came for a look. I assisted in dispatching the animal. Meat was given away and appeared to be just fine. The eventual death of the animal is not a pleasant one. From all my experiences in NW MN I would lean toward the brain parasite as the biggest cause of the decline. Something changed in the 70's to the 80's that took about 20 years or so to wipe them out almost completely. I wonder if there was a big change in the type of chemicals used in farming back then? Or did some parasite become more prolific...who knows. I hope they solve it though, what a majestic animal.

[JBMasterAngler]

It's a sad story indeed I hope they can figure something out. I've been going to Grand Marais every june for just about 30 years now, and this past june was the 1st time ever we didn't see at least 1 moose.

[matchset]

Good thing there's no wolves in Canada or Alaska!

Canada and Alaska both have established wolf hunts aswell.

[lichen fox]

It's sad to see this happening "again" in MN....We watched it happen here in the NW part of the state...Some members of our deer camp were lucky enough to draw tags when they had the Moose season's going on over here...In all I think it was 4 tags in all over about 6 seasons. I personally never was part of a party that drew a tag but my dad was in on two hunts, as was my older brother and my younger brother was in on one...I did however get in on the action by guiding other parties. It was normal back then to see 75 to 80 moose on an evening drive, during the peak of the moose rut...Now, it's a privilage to see one a year! We still run across some tracks and other sign from time to time but it's nothing like when the population was peaking. I too hope they can understand what's going on, and what, if anything, they can do to remedie it...personally, I don't buy any of the global warming theorys, just from a standpoint, as others have said...what's so much warmer about MN vs ND, Mont., Southern, MB, etc...

So far we have implemented two things...

A wolf season....this "should help" "some" as 10% die this way, maybe drop it to 9%...????

No Hunting season...this "should" drop the decline by 2%

But, to really make a difference, and to know the "right" things to do, they have to know what the "unknown" and "unknown/health related" issues are....they don't find the truth about the unknown, and it's all over baby, just like happened here in NW MN...

[RumRiverRat]

Has to be the out of control wolf population.

[monstermoose78]

It may not be just the wolves killing them, but with less moose to eat they will chase a higher percent of the moose and if they are stressing already the added wolve pressure on them is not good. In the Northeast the deer migrate out of their summer range and wolves do not.

[B. Amish]

forest change and wolves don't explain why they disappeard from the southern half of the nw population. unless the animals that lived there were 'spill over' from a strong population farther north and northeast.

[fivebucks]

I do hope they figure things out. The moose is the one big game animal I want to still hunt. I don't really care to go elk hunting but something about a nice big moose excites me. I brought up the Maine/wolf topic earlier mainly because it seems to be a topic that you never see in the reports as to why the MN moose is declining. I certainly don't think it's the main cause but I don't believe wolves only take 10% of the animals. Hopefully they get the funding to do some good research. They have studied the moose/wolf relationship on Isle Royal for many years and the populations of both species fluctuate over time.

[Eric Wettschreck]

I'm far from a biologist and I think this really sucks. I've been trying to get a moose tag for a while now and haven't been lucky enough. I've had moose meat and IMO it's the most tasty stuff out there.

Aboot this brain worm thing......I know nothing aboot it. Is it similar to CWD in deer? Is there a way it can be stopped/controlled/eliminated or is this mother nature doing her thing?

[leech~~]

[quote=shooter_mcgavin

Good thing there's no wolves in Canada or Alaska! [/quote

Canada and Alaska both have established wolf hunts aswell.

Minnesota has the highest Wolf densities in the lower 48, not sure how that would compare to the same Sq miles of Canada or Alaska?

[lichen fox]

When the moose started disapearing from NW MN the brain worm was IMO a big part of the cause...it became common to see or hear of moose walking in circles, disoriented, and finaly dieing or having to be put down cause they'd wandered into town or someones garage...from what I understand, the parasite is frequently hosted by whitetail deer with no ill effects on deer, but when moose get it, it kills them...if we're loosing 35% of the population in one year and that trend continues, we're loosing a 1,000 moose per year...when it got to that point in NW MN, it was a matter of 2 or 3 years and they were virtualy all gone...

[CaptainMusky]

Time to innoculate the moose from brain worm. Tranquilize them and give them a shot. Start with the females and young.

[lichen fox]

Here's some interesting info from a DNR biologist

But of all the pests to pester a moose, only three seem to cause their death.

A tapeworm that inhabits the guts of wolves passes through feces to land or water, where it is ingested by the moose, its intermediate host. It travels by bloodstream to the lungs, where it forms hydatid cysts, often reaching golf-ball size. Several dozen cysts may clog a moose’s lungs enough to reduce stamina and make the moose vulnerable to predators.

The winter tick, which preys only on moose, does its damage during winter, when moose struggle with food shortages and severe weather. Up to a dozen ticks, each engorged female growing to the size of a peanut, may cling to a square inch of moose hide. Ticks may total up to 100,000 on a single moose. Infested moose rub against trees continually, eventually losing much of their hair before the ticks drop off in spring. So-called ghost moose may lose more than three-quarters of their pelage. Researchers don’t know whether ticks often kill moose, but some suspect the act of grooming, by consuming energy and distracting moose from predators, might be more damaging than hair loss.

Finally, moose are susceptible to "moose sickness," caused by a meningeal nematode (brain worm) passed in a complicated cycle from white-tailed deer to moose via snails and slugs. The worm, which bores into the spinal cord and membranes surrounding the brain of its mammalian host, is harmless to deer but debilitating to moose. The afflicted animal stumbles, charges for little reason, and walks in circles. Moose sickness is often blamed for far-flung wanderings of some moose, such as two that roamed from northern Minnesota deep into Iowa and were killed, one shot by a poacher and the other struck by a semi

[lichen fox]

And...Does the BWCA have killer whales?

Wolves are not the only predators of moose. In southeastern Alaska, swimming moose are occasionally eaten by killer whales. Elsewhere, grizzlies and even black bears are deadly, especially to calves. Research in east-central Saskatchewan revealed black bears killed nearly half the year’s crop of calves.

Much of the sparring and fighting between bulls during the autumn rut is ritualized, to test dominance without the danger of a full-tilt battle. But occasionally bulls get into it. Mismatched antler tines put out eyes. The swipe of an antler causes festering puncture wounds, and even slashes from which intestines ooze. Battered moose die of exhaustion, dehydration, and blood loss.

Moose are killed by cars, at the rate of about 70 a year in Minnesota. In winter they are attracted to road salt and the easy traveling of a plowed roadway.

For the same reason—to travel a clear path—moose follow railroad tracks. They may flee a speeding train by running along the tracks until they are overtaken. During the rut, testosterone-addled bulls may challenge an oncoming engine. "The locomotive would blow at them and at times they would stand their ground and charge the locomotive," said Dale Reno, road master for the Duluth, Missabi and Iron Range Railway in northeastern Minnesota. "They would lose."

Moose die in accidents of their own making. They break through ice and drown. They tumble over cliffs, sink into mud, and become entangled in fences. They become trapped in deep, steep-sided, insurmountable "foraging trenches" created as moose pace back and forth in deep snow. While browsing, they catch their legs in the forks of trees and then starve. Moose have even been found rendered immobile by "snowballs"—huge accumulations of snow on the wound site of a fractured leg.

[RumRiverRat]

Time to innoculate the moose from brain worm. Tranquilize them and give them a shot. Start with the females and young.

Do you work for the DNR?

That is something the DNR would decide to do, because it makes absolutely no sense and that is the DNRs specialty.