I've written a lot lately about the human relationship with the Animal Kingdom lately, although to be precise, that would be the relationship between the Human Animal and all the Other Animals. But we must acknowledge that the Human Animal is special, and when I say "special" that should not be construed as praise.
I ran across a story in the Duluth News Tribune with the misleading title Wolves taking toll on Minnesota moose. You will see why I say "misleading" in just a moment.
The first messages from dead moose to Minnesota researchers have been coming in, and early results show wolves are taking their toll on the state’s beleaguered moose herd despite an easy winter.
Minnesota wildlife researchers trapped 111 moose in January and February and placed GPS trackers and transmitters on the big animals. It’s the most elaborate effort yet to find out what’s causing the rapid decline of the state’s moose population.
The goal is to get crews to dead moose quickly to retrieve key organs and tissue to find out what really killed the animals. Until now, by the time researchers found the dead moose, they were often too badly decomposed to be of much use, or had been munched on by wolves.
OK, they're tagging moose. Here's why the story's title is misleading.
Already, six of the 111 moose in the study have died.
Of those, four are listed as having perished from capture-related mortality, meaning the stress of being tranquilized and collared somehow led to other problems and their death. That rate of about 3.6 percent is average for capture/collaring projects and is lower than recent Minnesota moose studies, said Erika Butler, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources veterinarian in charge of the moose mortality project.
“Any moose that dies within two weeks of capture is automatically counted as a capture-related mortality. … It may have been something else, but we count it as that,” Butler said. “Some animals are weak going into it and just can’t get back up. We don’t like it, but it happens.”
Of the two animals that died from other causes, both appear to be victims of wolf attacks...
If you're keeping score, the current tally is—
Likely Capture-Related Deaths: 4
Wolf Deaths: 2
Studying these moose is a complex, time-consuming business.
While wolves were the ultimate cause of death for those moose, Butler said both of them, and even some of the moose that died from capture-related stress, had lower-than-usual body fat in what has been a fairly normal, if not mild, winter in moose country.
“When we are capturing them in January, that’s early enough in winter that they should still have some good body fat, and three of these didn’t. That’s not normal,” Butler said.
A reduction in nutrition, possibly from warm weather in the summer when moose are too hot to eat, or from habitat issues, is one theory why moose are having problems making it through winter.
Seth Moore, director of biology and environment for the Grand Portage Band of Minnesota Chippewa, said the winter in far northern Minnesota has seen below-average snowfall and about normal temperatures. Moose, which are perfectly adapted for deep snow and low temperatures, should have come through winter without major problems.
“This winter should not have had an impact on moose or even deer,” Moore said. “They should be in good shape.”
Moore is studying 19 moose captured in and around the Grand Portage Reservation and fitted with the same kind of collars the DNR is using.
So far, one of his moose has died, and investigators found a surprising cause.
“It was clear that wolves killed it. The site was just decimated from the struggle ... blood everywhere, trees knocked down. But when we got to looking in the lungs, they were just full of bright-green pneumonia,’ Moore said. “This was a health-compromised animal that wolves got to.”
Wolves killed that moose, but it had pneumonia when it died. Are there other health issues?
It’s possible that some of the dead moose, even those eaten by wolves, might have had other health issues, and scientists have sent samples of body parts to labs to find out.
It’s the quick-response team’s job to get to the newly dead moose within about 24 hours, especially to retrieve the brain, eyes, liver, heart, kidneys and spleen. Moose are so big and retain heat so well that their organs begin to decompose after just 24 hours.
“The brain decomposes faster than most of the tissues in the body. The brain is so important to us because we know some of our moose are experiencing neurological issues,” Butler said. “Getting to the brain, or any organ, with 24-ish hours ensures their histological architecture is still intact so that we can evaluate the organ microscopically for any lesions.”
Those could include brainworm, a viral infection or a bacterial infection.
“If there is a bacterial infection, the faster you get to the organ, the more likely you are to be able to culture the organism out of the tissue,” she said. “Once a carcass starts to decompose, the bacteria normally present in the guts begin to translocate into other organs, which can make culture results difficult to interpret.”
Here's my favorite part. Fucking with these moose—whoops! I meant studying these moose—is a sophisticated, high-tech business. You can't make this stuff up.
The expensive high-tech collar systems are sending satellite messages when a moose stops moving for six hours, about twice as long as the usual moose nap.
Once located by ground crews, the 700-pound animals can be hauled into a lab or, if they are too remote, much of the work can be done in the field, with samples taken for complex lab analysis later.
The $1.2 million study, funded mostly from the state’s share of lottery proceeds dedicated to environmental issues, has targeted moose in Lake and Cook counties.
Of the 111 collared moose, 27 also carry a censor in their stomachs that sends an instant text message when the moose’s heart stops beating, giving researchers an even faster jump to get at the body to test blood, tissues and especially organs like the heart, liver and brain.
God Knows, I wish I were receiving that kind of health care! I should have been born an endangered moose!
The DNR has made saving the moose among its top wildlife management issues, and last year added moose to its list of troubled species as a “species of concern.”
Just last month the state’s limited fall moose hunt, scaled back in recent years, was canceled altogether for 2013 and probably will never be held again — unless the moose stages an unexpected comeback.
According to aerial surveys, the Northeastern Minnesota moose population dropped a jaw-dropping 35 percent from last winter to this winter — from an estimated 4,230 in 2012 to 2,760 this January. That one-year decline was more than double the average drop in recent years of 15 percent. The population was as high as 8,800 in 2006.
Everybody, including the intrepid reporters at National Public Radio, believes the moose decline is a mystery
Decline a mystery
The rapid demise of moose in Northeastern Minnesota comes just a few years after northwestern Minnesota’s moose population virtually disappeared, crashing from 4,000 to just a few dozen in just 25 years. The phenomenon is creeping north into Ontario as well.
Research papers identify higher summertime temperatures in recent decades as an underlying issue. But that’s not what’s actually killing the animals.
Scientists believe it’s a combination of higher temperatures, parasites such as brain worm and ticks, disease and increased deer numbers as well as changes in where moose forage for food as temperatures warm up.
One Ontario researcher has found that calves are especially susceptible to brainworm, which are carried by the increasing number of deer in the region.
But a higher density of wolves — more wolves in the moose range — also might be killing more young moose than 20 years ago.
And a reduction in logging spurred by lower demand and shuttered mills has caused the forest to age in the past decade beyond the young aspen stands that moose thrive on.
OK, that's more than enough. But of course that was the point of reprinting all this text. Endangering the moose and then saving the moose are endless tasks of great complexity for Homo sapiens, which is heavily involved on both sides of the issue.
So, how about just leaving these moose alone? Unfortunately, it's way too late for that. The natural habitat of the moose of Northeastern Minnesota and Southern Ontario is already ruined. Even a reduction in logging had a bad effect on the moose population because their natural environment, which would have supported ample young aspens for them to feed on, has been destroyed.
Deer and wolf numbers are up, and those changes are unlikely to be natural trends unaffected by human actions. The changing climate is adding to the endless woes of these moose because warmer summers, in combination with everything else, appears to be making them more susceptible to parasites and infections, and higher temperatures change where moose forage in the the restricted habitats they must occupy.
In short, the humans have already fucked with the moose of Northeastern Minnesota to such an extent that the entire population nearly disappeared just a few years ago. Having driven them to the thin edge of non-existence, the humans are working overtime to save them, including using expensive high-tech collar systems which send satellite messages when a moose stops moving for six hours, about twice as long as the usual moose nap, or stomach censors which send an instant text message when the moose’s heart stops beating.
All of this will go on and on unless the moose stages an unexpected comeback.
Don't hold your breath waiting for that.
Oh, if only we could get that average decline rate back to a paltry 15% per year instead of a "jaw dropping" 35%.
Posted by: J. Drew | 03/21/2013 at 10:54 AM