Biologists seek clues to B.C. moose deaths

[HarryToolips]

Wolves have not, however, been around moose for thousands of years with the habitat altered by pine beetle logging. That's the difference. And wolf populations are not dropping due to the alternate prey species like rapidly-expanding whitetailed deer in new habitats.

Unregulated hunting is exactly what it says, hunting without regulations. To have a poacher, you'd need regulations to be broken.

Finally, you missed the important part in the article which says it is imperative that if you're hunting cow moose to shoot a cow with or without these collars. That data will help the bios determine all causes of death.

Bingo...I believe it's the fallen timber etc within old growth forests that gives moose the upper edge when fleeing from preds...less cover now than ever I'm sure..

[tigrr]

It is a sad state of affairs when no one is keeping track of the native slaughter. All the cow moose in their traditional land are gone so they road hunt everywhere now. With all the cow moose shot no more calves. End result the moose in their area are gone period.

Soon the will all be gone.

[boxhitch]

So far, 19 collared moose have died: nine were killed by wolves, three by unregulated hunting, three due to starvation, one by a vehicle collision and three due to unknown causes.

Most research projects ask hunters not to shoot a collared animal, but not this one. Researchers need to know the degree to which human hunters are involved in the population declines.

Will it give a difinitive answer ? No
Said human hunters can easily avoid collared moose , and can adjust activities while the study goes on . The study will be valid for the study period only imo
Deactivate roads and quit spraying herbicides , moose don't eat pine trees.

[ratherbefishin]

I wonder if the beetle kill areas that burned will be productive sooner than naturally occurring regeneration?if so,selective burning could be a viable option to increase browse

[Ltbullken]

Well at least there is some glimmer of hope with the possibility that the die-off has stopped or slowed down. I've heard from government sources that there is concern as well about black bear predation on calves. Black bear numbers have been on the steady rise. This collared study certainly helps better understand adult moose mortality but does little as far as I can see to get a handle on calf mortality. Who wants to sign up for collecting bear scat!?

[Bugle M In]

Will it give a difinitive answer ? No
Said human hunters can easily avoid collared moose , and can adjust activities while the study goes on . The study will be valid for the study period only imo
Deactivate roads and quit spraying herbicides , moose don't eat pine trees.

Exactly....those "Unregulated Hunters" could actually curtail their activities by NOT shooting those "Collared Moose" for the duration.
Thus, the study will again be inaccurate.
Yes, the study will provide info on wolf kills for sure.
And we all know that more road access due to the beetle kill has not helped the Moose, and has allowed those "Unregulated Hunters" more access as well.
Now knowing what those radio collars are for in this case, will only cause those unregulated hunters to take a second look before they squeeze the trigger....that's all.

[Ltbullken]

Too many bears is the problem! Wolves are a minor factor.
The study area
http://www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca/downlo...uary_22_14.pdf
So far 9 out of 19 collared deaths were attributed to wolves. I would bet that none of the newborn calves were collared. If this is the case the study underway is incomplete/lacking.
NOTES
-a moose population requires at least 25 calves per 100 cows to balance losses of adult moose from natural causes, including predation
Higher calf/cow rates(well over 30) are required to support a sustainable hunter harvest
- bear predation is a major mortality factor for moose calves during the first 6 to 8 weeks of life when they’re most vulnerable.-“Bears track a cow moose that is going to give birth. They will snatch it right out from under the old cow’s tail. Simply put, the more bears we have the less moose we will have.”
-unregulated hunters may avoid killing collared moose for the obvious reason
"Caribou calves can outrun bears in 10 days……..It takes moose calves about five weeks until they can outrun a bear.”
http://www.sitnews.us/0709news/070909/070909_ak_science.html

Alaskans kill bears to save moose(recent)“Research indicates that predation by bears is playing a significant role in preventing the moose population from increasing. A wolf control program has been in effect in the unit since 2004 but reducing wolf numbers has not had a noticeable effect on the moose population”
http://www.georgesmithmaine.com/arti...ars-save-moose
45 of the 54 newborn calves studied died, mostly killed by bears and only 1 by a wolf or coyote. 7 of the calves were abandoned when calf were collared(the risk of collaring a newborn)
http://www.thesewardphoenixlog.com/s...ation/798.html

2 bear limit!! Let's use it fellow hunters!!

[ratherbefishin]

The big problem is coming out and saying they want to do some preditor control in order to increase the population of caribou,elk,moose ,or deer.If it needs to be done,just do it,don't even involve the media.Why hire trained biologists to manage the wildlife,then defer to a bunch of hippies?Right now there is a big billboard on the way to the Swartz Bay ferry terminal demanding we 'stop killing wolves'and thousands of prople drive by that every day.Why are we inviting every wacko to come out of the woodwork,all they really want is donations from naive people anyway.Nobody mentions the wolf cull is to protect endangered caribou....this is what happens when the general population lives in cities and hadn't got a clue about rural living or sustenance food gathering,and unwrapping a store bought steak from cellophane doesn't qualify.