moose – BIG

Ever wonder how biologists count moose? These massive but elusive animals don’t make it easy. But it turns out the key to good population surveys starts with a good snowfall. Snowy days are essential to conducting annual moose surveys across northern and central Ontario, as far south as Haliburton and the Kawarthas.

The inventories—done by low-flying aircraft—help the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) estimate populations for long-term management—an increasingly important task as climate change and host of other factors have imperilled moose in southern portions of their range.

The aerial counts are done using a standard protocol that’s used across North America: between 10 AM and 2 PM from December through mid-February, within 72 hours of a fresh snowfall of at least 30 cm (to make tracks more visible) and temperatures less than minus 5ºC (since moose are more active in the cold).

Watch a moose gallop through waist-deep snow like it’s thin air

“The Ontario moose population has decreased 20 percent since 2004,” says Amanda Rantala, the administrative assistant to the regional director with the Northeast Region MNRF in Timmins. “Exact causes of population declines are not always clear, but multiple factors likely play a role including habitat, parasites, hunting, climate and predators. The ministry is exploring the potential for further science efforts to examine the impacts of some of these factors more closely.”

Rantala says the most significant declines have occurred in parts of northeastern and central parts of the province, including most of Ontario cottage country. But it’s not just here; similar patterns are occurring elsewhere along the southern fringes of moose habitat. Minnesota’s moose population has decreased by more than 50 per cent since 2006, in part because of increasing numbers of white-tailed deer, which carry a brainworm parasite that’s lethal to moose. In Maine, warmer winters are being blamed for eruptions of winter ticks, which threaten the survivorship of young moose by causing hair loss.

Aerial surveys are conducted on a rotational basis in Ontario Wildlife Management Units (WMU) known to support moose. Based on aerial observation of moose signs in the surveys, biologists make population estimates for low-, medium- and high-moose density habitat, which can then be extrapolated across the entire WMU. Aerial surveys also allow biologists to estimate the number of bulls, cows, and calves within an area.

Ultimately, moose aerial estimates are plotted against management goals to allow biologists to assign hunting quotas for various parts of the province. Rantala says moose in Ontario’s cottage country are within population objective ranges, with about 1,300 moose in the Parry Sound area, 339 in Muskoka and 458 in Haliburton. The moose population for the entire province is around 91,000—about the same as the number of moose hunters.

Meet the mighty moose

A voice from the wilderness

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A study from the British Columbia Medical Journal has revealed that collisions with moose in the province are most frequent in the month of September.

Researchers compared the outcomes of moose-vehicle and deer-vehicle collisions in B.C., and they found collisions with these animals peaked in certain months. Seventeen per cent of moose collisions happened in the month of September, and 25 per cent of deer collisions happened in August, with December and June also being high frequency periods for both animals.

Researchers also looked at how patients were treated in hospital after colliding with the two animals, and found that drivers who collided with moose typically suffered more severe injuries. They attribute the severity of the injuries to the large size and high centre of gravity of the animal. “When a vehicle strikes a moose, the point of contact is usually the moose’s legs; thus, the torso of the moose often lands on the hood of the car and slides up and through the windshield and across the dashboard of the car, coming in contact with the upper body of the motorists,” they said.

Drivers who collided with moose were far more likely to have their airbags deployed and be admitted to the hospital via ambulance than those who collided with deer, according to the study. Once in the hospital, only seven per cent of drivers who collided with a deer needed specialty medical treatment, while 27 per cent of drivers who collided with moose required the same.

Jadzia Porter, a spokesperson for the Wildlife Collision Prevention Program, says commuters can take steps to avoid dangerous driving collisions with moose and deer. “Almost all wildlife vehicle collisions are preventable with safe driving,” she says.

Wildlife collision prevention can start before entering the car, says Porter. Drivers should make sure they’re not too tired or distracted to give their full attention to the road, and they should also ensure their vehicles brakes, mirrors, and lights are all working properly.

Once they’re in the car, drivers should adhere to speed limits and be on the lookout for wildlife and wildlife warning signs. If possible, travelers should consider alternative routes to those with high wildlife traffic. Commuters should also drive slowly, especially when visibility is low or at dawn and dusk, when these animals are most active.

In most cases, it is better to break than to swerve to avoid wildlife, Porter says. Swerving can veer you towards other equally dangerous obstacles like medians, barriers, and oncoming traffic. “If you’re driving slow enough you can likely use your brakes to avoid an animal in the road and not feel as though you have to swerve,” she says.

There are important steps to take in the event of a collision, says Porter. These incidents should be reported to authorities regardless of outcome, but drivers should contact the RCMP if there are injuries, there is vehicle damage over $1,000, the animal is unsafe to move, or if the animal is in an unsafe spot on the road.