Parasites and disease have greatly reduced northern Minnesota moose population. Studies indicate its not hunting or predation, but parasites, disease and malnutrition. These are probably due to the change to a warmer climate.
Outdoors: Scientists look for moose clues. By Glen Schmitt. St. Cloud Times outdoors writer
Ralph Maughan
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University. He was a Western Watersheds Project Board Member off and on for many years, and was also its President for several years. For a long time he produced Ralph Maughan's Wolf Report. He was a founder of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. He and Jackie Johnson Maughan wrote three editions of "Hiking Idaho." He also wrote "Beyond the Tetons" and "Backpacking Wyoming's Teton and Washakie Wilderness." He created and is the administrator of The Wildlife News.
Love your website!!!!!
But, global warming indirectly killing moose? Please, stop the insanity of global warming hype. Just once, I’d like to see one thing that global warming is improving. You have to admit that some species will benefit from a warmer environment????? Yes, I’m sure this post will be deleted but I’m so sick of reading about global warming effecting everything on my earth.
Try this on for size. My carrot crop last year was 28% larger due to global warming. I’m expecting this increase to continue for the next 100 years. Ooops, the world has been taken over by carrots.
Continue the great work on this blog but please….global warming and GW Bush is not the cause of all bad things.
Maybe Tim, maybe. But the fact is that that we do not much about the indirect influence of global warning. At least we in central Europe will know more about it in course of this year and I suppose we´ll have to learn the hard way. We had no winter this year!!! Let´s see what the year has in store, now the pronounced winter season is missing…
Sorry, Tim. Because you have a direct benefit (i.e. personal financial stake) in it means you are not being objective. If global warming causes drought to come to your area, which it very well may, you’ll be screaming about it! That will not make you an impartial expert either!
I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the biggest factors affecting moose is the enormous white tail deer population. White tails are notorious carriers of brain worm, a nasty parasite to which moose seem especially susceptible. I think that in many cases, the huge white tail population is detrimental to other cervids; I believe I remember reading of examples in which elk reintroduced to eastern states were having problems with brain worm and other parasites.