Moose dying at alarming rate in Minnesota. Perhaps just 100 left...climate change?

[Lodestar]

EAU, Mont. — Across North America — in places as far-flung as Montana and British Columbia, New Hampshire and Minnesota — moose populations are in steep decline. And no one is sure why.
Science Times
New research tries to break through cancer’s protective shield and women with breast cancer in Uganda face terrible challenges; the weather turns on North America’s forest giant.

Twenty years ago, Minnesota had two geographically separate moose populations. One of them has virtually disappeared since the 1990s, declining to fewer than 100 from 4,000.

The other population, in northeastern Minnesota, is dropping 25 percent a year and is now fewer than 3,000, down from 8,000. (The moose mortality rate used to be 8 percent to 12 percent a year.) As a result, wildlife officials have suspended all moose hunting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/15/science/earth/something-is-killing-off-the-moose.html?_r=0

(this story was on the news tonight, but this NYT piece is from last October...nothing changed)

[kickysnana]

1. Poaching, disease, inbreeding?,...sad. n/t

[glinda]

2. Partly because they "collar" them when they are weak already.

I thought the number was greater than 100. Yikes. And they tried to use that to justify killing wolves.

[shenmue]

3. Mercy

Awful.

[YarnAddict]

4. It's Minnesota--

--maybe they're freezing to death.

[Lodestar]

8. Apparently it's the opposite problem...summer heat getting longer, winter warmer, shorter.

At least that's one theory they are tossing out.

[hatrack]

9. There's also a theory that it's related to ticks, which are a tremendous drain on moose

With winters (until this year) not getting cold enough long enough to knock down tick populations, moose are essentially getting drained of blood to the point that many can't survive.

With luck, this cold spell may help turn things around, at least in the short term.

[mn9driver]

5. Numbers are out of date.

The DNR just completed this winter's census and found more moose. The state population is still in decline, but it looks like last year's terrible numbers were due to undercounting:

http://m.startribune.com/?id=245574681

[Lodestar]

7. Well someone needs to alert NBC who did this story on the evening news tonight, about the update N/T

[bloomington-lib]

6. Let's have a moose hunting season with a camera

Good way to keep track of them and more fun than shooting them.