A brand new provincial research hopes to shed some mild on the standing of northwestern Ontario’s moose inhabitants.
The research, which is being run by the Ministry of Pure Assets and Forestry (MNRF), is making use of GPS collars on moose and wolves, in addition to tooth and flesh samples from any moose harvested within the area.
“Throughout the 2000s, we skilled widespread declines in moose numbers throughout a lot of northern Ontario,” stated Brent Patterson, senior analysis scientist with the MNRF. “General it was solely about 20 per cent, however these declines had been variable.”
“Some areas skilled far more drastic declines,” he stated. “In some elements of the northwest, these declines exceeded 50 per cent.”
“Administration unit 13, instantly round Thunder Bay, is an instance of an space that that did expertise a fairly a dramatic decline.”
In search of options
Patterson stated the variety of moose tags issued for hunters in these areas was “drastically lowered,” however that did not result in a “a lot signal of constructive inhabitants progress.”
“There is a challenge there that is preserving the inhabitants from recovering, and we would wish to know what that’s, and what options may assist,” he stated.
That course of consists of utilizing GPS collars which is able to permit the MNRF to maintain a detailed eye on moose and wolves, and their actions.
“Actually the wolf inhabitants in northern Ontario may be very wholesome and and sustainable,” stated Mark Ryckman, supervisor of coverage and wildlife biologist with the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters.
“We all know that wolves are year-round predators of moose, whereas as an example, black bears are actually solely competent predators of calf moose and actually solely within the first two or three weeks of their lives,” he stated. “The query turns into, what are wolf populations like and the way do they evaluate?”
“We all know from different latest analysis in Ontario that if a moose inhabitants is lowered past a sure degree in an space that has excessive predator populations, it is completely potential that even within the absence of licensed searching, the excessive wolf inhabitants can preserve that moose inhabitants on a decrease degree and stop it from actually demonstrating any kind of enchancment.”
Patterson stated the request for tooth and flesh samples may even result in necessary data.
Superior Morning9:23Brent Patterson: Moose Examine
Moose viewing..and moose searching are necessary to northwestern Ontario’s out of doors tradition and custom. However in recent times, there’s growing concern in regards to the state of the moose herd.That is why the Ministry of Pure Assets is researching the potential elements limiting moose populations in our area, particularly close to Thunder Bay. The Ministry is utilizing GPS collars and ear tags on each moose and wolves in Wildlife Administration Unit 13.It is also asking for tooth samples from any moose harvested through the 2024 searching season to assist with the research. Brent Patterson is a Senior Analysis scientist with the MNR, within the wildlife analysis and monitoring part and is a wolf and deer specialist.
“We’re very curious about who’s doing the breeding,” he stated. “For instance, some folks would imagine that in a moose inhabitants, it is only a few giant mature bulls which might be doing many of the breeding throughout the inhabitants, whereas one other chance is that every one bulls of any age are taking part within the breeding.”
“Understanding how that works is necessary to implications for harvest administration, as a result of proper now in in a lot of the northwest, the inhabitants is being managed to kind of protect a lot of mature bulls within the inhabitants,” Patterson stated. “The pondering is that that is essential to make it possible for all of the the cows are being bred every year, but when we undertake this work and uncover that truly the breeding is extra evenly unfold out amongst the male section of the inhabitants, then that may permit managers to be a bit extra liberal with the harvest.”
DNA recovered from tooth or flesh samples, he stated, will permit the MNRF to find out if a harvested moose had fathered every other recognized moose within the inhabitants.
A ‘holistic’ look
Ryckman stated the research, which might be carried out over the subsequent few years, will present a holistic have a look at moose ecology and inhabitants dynamics.
“That features every thing from predation to reap ranges, the well being of the animals which might be harvested, ailments and parasites, copy ranges and survival, doubtlessly influence of local weather change and even habitat, as an example,” he stated. “So it is actually going to be an all-encompassing analysis mission.”
As to potential options, Ryckman stated it is too early to say, given not all the information is out there. However, he famous, there are some measures the province might take.
“Among the issues which might be throughout the [MNRF’s] wheelhouse are, as an example, habitat,” he stated. “Do we’ve got the quantity and the kind of habitat that we have to help the variety of moose that we wish, or the variety of moose that we expect we must always have in a given space? So what influence do forest administration practices have on the quantity and the kind of habitat?”
“What influence does the spraying of aerial herbicides by the forest trade have on the supply of moose habitat and the kind of moose habitat? Once more, one thing that’s totally throughout the [MNRF’s] wheelhouse and their potential to regulate.”
“Clearly participating Indigenous peoples and making certain that their sustenance harvest is maintained and so they can then proceed to fulfil their wants as a group is necessary as effectively.”
Ryckman additionally famous that anybody who encounters a moose or wolf with a radio collar over the approaching years should not deal with these animals any in a different way.
“If it is an animal that they might have harvested regardless, then harvest it, please, as a result of any change in behaviour by hunters goes to introduce a bias into the the outcomes,” he stated. “We want hunters and trappers finally to deal with these animals precisely the way in which they might in the event that they weren’t sporting a radio collar.”
