The results of this winter’s aerial moose survey are in and according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, fewer of the magnificent animals, like this one, were seen.
A series of Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) aerial surveys conducted this winter has indicated that the moose population in Northeastern Minnesota has again fallen.
Results of those counts indicate that the 2011 estimated population of 4,900 has dropped to 4,230 in 2012, a decline of 14 percent.
“Estimates from the survey and results from research using radiocollared moose both indicate that the population has been declining in recent years,” said Mark Lenarz, DNR forest wildlife group leader.
The decline has been steady. Since 2006, the moose population in Northeastern Minnesota has dropped in half, from an estimated 8,840 moose to the current number.
Just what is causing the moose to die is still somewhat of a mystery. Researchers list abnormally warmer temperatures, disease and parasites as the likely culprits, but are leaving no stone unturned in the search for the decline in the moose herd.
Since 2002, 150 moose have been radio-collared and so far, 119 have died, most from unknown diseases or parasites. Known causes included 10 deaths from traffic accidents, two deaths from train accidents and 11 deaths by wolf predation.
A couple of positive trends emerged from this survey. Cows having twin calves increased, although the estimated 36 calves per 100 cows in 2012 remains well below 1990s estimates.
Another bright spot was the bullto cow ratio, which increased from an estimated 108 bulls per 100 cows, indicating more bulls were able to breed with more cows.
The aerial survey has been conducted by the DNR since 1960. Pilots fly transects in 49 randomly selected plots across the Arrowhead region while researchers conduct their count.
The DNR will evaluate the data and consult with tribal biologists before deciding on a 2012 bulls-only hunting season.
Last fall hunting permits were cut in half, from 213 in 2010 to 105 permits in 2011.
In 2013 a two-year study will concentrate on identifying disease and parasites that might be responsible for high moose mortality.
This study will cost $600,000 and be funded from the Minnesota Environmental and Natural Resources Trust Fund, which receives its money from the state lottery. Some of the money and staff are provided to the DNR for the aerial survey by the Fond du Lac band of Lake Superior Chippewa and the 1854 Treaty Authority.
What will be interesting is to compare the statistics with the annual moose count conducted on Isle Royale by Dr. John Vucetich and Dr. Colin Peterson of Michigan Technological University. The researchers are spending seven weeks during the winter researching wolves and moose and conduct Ariel counts of each as part of their research. The count on moose was just finished, but the results weren’t tabulated by the time the paper came out. Isle Royale is just 17 miles off shore from Grand Portage, so if heat is the main culprit, statistics should show a similar drop in the island’s moose herd.
A copy of the 2012 aerial survey report is available online at www.mndnr.gov/hunting/moose.
The DNR’s Moose Management and Research Plan, approved in 2011 as a way to possibly identify causes of moose mortality and potentially slow Minnesota’s declining population, is available at www.mndnr.gov/moose.
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