Dr. Joel Berger has become notable for his research on Greater Yellowstone moose. In this interview with the New York Times he talks about how the growing presence of grizzly bears in the Grand Teton NP area is related to, may result in moose moving closer to roads to escape grizzly bear predation on their calves.
When Grizzlies Ruin Eden, Moose Take to the Road. By Claudia Dreifus. New York Times.
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Ralph Maughan
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University with specialties in natural resource politics, public opinion, interest groups, political parties, voting and elections. Aside from academic publications, he is author or co-author of three hiking/backpacking guides, and he is President of the Western Watersheds Project.
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Excellent interview, horrible title.
Agreed. Ralph Maughan
Speaking of moose check this out
http://www.ktvb.com/news/regional/stories/ktvbn-feb1108-albino_moose.b08ac946.html
this should make moose hunters happy!! they wont have to hunt them so hard, can shoot em off the side of the road,,,,
It has been speculated that coyotes in Yellowstone are doing the same thing: using roadways as travel corridors, and keeping closer to the roads. Of course, this is because wolves avoid the roads.
Animals aren’t stupid, they adapt to the changing environment, and GYE has changed immensely lately.
I’ve actually seen three moose calves close to a road in Colorado. They were still wet, and wobbling. So I am sure they were newborns. That was just last year. We don’t have wolves (many) or grizzlies. So why is this occuring here? The moose here have only a few coyotes and cougars, amybe an occasional black bear to contend with, otherwise-no predators.
This is interesting.
The article makes it seem as though bears were no where to be found in the GYE until the 90’s. That was somewhat misleading.
And I agree, the title was awful! Ruined paradise…whatever!
I thought that moose had been heading out of the parks for a while? I thought they had been seeing fewer for a while now.
At any rate, it was interesting.
Kim
Uh, there is no hunting of moose anywhere at the time moose cows come to term (late spring). Moose hunting always occurs in the fall of each year.
RH
The bears will figure it out, and if the end (a tasty moose calf) justifies the means (getting close to roads and unpredictable humans) the bears will soon be feasting on moose calves.
This reminds me of bear predation on caribou calves in Alaska. Caribou go to specific calving areas, and they all drop their calves at the same time–I think the term for it is “swamping.” Some calves may get picked off by predators, but predators can only eat so much in a few days, so the majority of calves will survive. Anyhow, biologists tracking grizzlies with radio collars and gps noticed that grizzlies headed for caribou calving areas at the precise time of year the carbiou gave birth.
Bears in Yellowstone will figure it out, it’s just a matter of “is it worth the risk?”