Sunday, October 8, 2000
Where have the moose gone? Experts disagree
A drop in sightings is puzzling because only last year, some thought Maine's
herd was too big
Copyright © 2001 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
Wildlife photographer Bill Silliker Jr. swears that if anyone can find moose, he can. He has three books, thousands of photos and a national reputation to prove his point.
Yet Silliker, who lives in Ocean Park, just spent four days driving hundreds of miles through prime moose habitat north and east of Moosehead Lake, and came up empty. "It was a huge area. Never saw a moose," he said last week. "And I was there in the night. I was there early in the morning. I was there at noon and afternoon. I was there at all the appropriate times, including in the dark."
For at least a year, state wildlife biologists say, people have been complaining that they're seeing fewer moose, even in areas like Greenville and Millinocket, where moose have been plentiful. The mystery of Maine's missing moose is a hot topic this fall, especially with 3,000 hunters heading out Monday for the annual six-day moose season.
| CAR-MOOSE COLLISIONS | |
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Number of collisions 1990: 359 1998: 859 1999: 673 Sources: Dept. of Transportation, Dept. of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, Ofiice of Secretary of State, Dept. of Public Safety, Maine Turnpike Authority Road kills are a better indicator of traffic volume than moose population. There are more accidents in southern Maine, even though there probably are fewer moose. The northwest portion of the state shows no collisions, not because there are no moose, but because only accidents on highways, not on woods roads are shown. |
The drop in sightings is even more puzzling because only last year, people were hotly debating whether Maine had too many moose. Moose-vehicle collisions hit a record 859 in 1998, with five fatalities. The accidents helped fuel a movement to increase the number of hunting permits to 3,000 -- another record -- to trim the population.
Many observers, including Elowe, say moose are still abundant but harder to see from the roads, because the vegetation in so many clear-cut areas has grown taller than the biggest bulls.
Other people, including Silliker, believe increased hunting has reduced the moose population and made the survivors more wary.
And some blame the hot, dry summer of 1999. As the sun beat down and the bogs dried up, moose sought shade and water deeper in the woods, said Wayne Bosowicz, a Maine Guide for 37 years.
"Last year put a panic on everyone because you couldn't see the moose," Bosowicz said. "But the moose are around."
The problem is, no one can be sure of that. Wildlife biologists estimate the statewide population at 30,000, but even they say they need more data. The fish and wildlife department has budgeted $280,000 for a full-scale, high-tech census over the next two years -- the first major survey since the late 1980s.
"Nobody knows how many moose there are," Silliker said. "It's all wild guesses."
Seeing moose is important to more than Maine's hunters. Across the state, the number of signs, souvenirs and even moose-shaped snacks is clear evidence that moose rival, if not surpass, lobsters and loons in terms of public appeal.
Moose-mania reaches far beyond Greenville's annual celebration, and touches Mainers and tourists alike. "Moose are one of those critters that kind of signify Maine to a lot of people," Elowe said.
State Sen. Leo Kieffer, R-Caribou, led the move in 1999 to increase the number of moose hunting permits and transfer control over the hunt from the Legislature to the fish and wildlife department.
But, Kieffer said, "if the number of moose is dropping -- if that shows in the hunt this year -- then the following year (wildlife officials) had better be able to react, and react fast. Because the Legislature won't put up with it."
State biologists have long said that the first sign of a population decline would be a drop in the hunting success rate, which has averaged 92 percent over the past decade. In 1999, the success rate slipped to 89 percent, the lowest since 1990.
Another annual indicator, the number of moose seen by hunters on opening day, also dropped.
In a 1998 survey, hunters reported seeing an average of 5.1 moose per day, the second-highest rate ever. But last year, each hunter saw an average of only 3.1 moose per day.
A statistic that's good news for drivers also might signal that the moose population is down. The number of moose-vehicle collisions dropped to 673 in 1999, a 22 percent decline from the previous year. There was only one fatality last year; there has been one so far this year.
But none of those statistics is clear evidence of a declining moose population, said Karen Morris, the state wildlife biologist who specializes in moose.
The slight drop in the hunting success rate could have occurred because the number of hunters jumped from 2,000 to 3,000. Giving more permits increases the chances that more hunters will be inexperienced or just plain unlucky, she said.
Also, the moose season overlapped with the opening of the bird-hunting season last year, further increasing the number of hunters in Maine's forests and fields.
"There were just a lot of people to interfere with each other, basically," Morris said. "People were very unlikely to be the first persons down a road."
Heavy, wet snow on opening day could be another reason why fewer moose were seen last year. The weather probably kept more moose and moose hunters under cover than usual.
"Considering the fact that I couldn't see across the parking lot at the tagging station for a good part of the day, I think that might have a good bit to do with it," Morris said.
Moose-vehicle collisions have increased greatly, but not steadily, over the past decade.
In 1990, there were 359 accidents. The number rose to 658 by 1994. Since then, it has risen one year and dropped the next. Morris suspects the fluctuations reflect changes in movement of moose based on weather and food supplies.
Road kills are a better indicator of traffic volume than moose population, Elowe said. That's shown clearly on a new state poster marking the locations of 2,126 moose-vehicle accidents from 1996-98. There were more accidents in southern Maine, even though there are far fewer moose there than in other parts of the state.
The northwest portion of the map shows no collisions, not because there are no moose, but because only accidents on highways -- not on woods roads -- are shown.
To Elowe, the most likely explanation for the drop in moose sightings is the dramatic change in forestry over the past few decades.
After the spruce budworm epidemic in the 1970s, efforts to salvage timber resulted in huge clear-cuts. As the forests grew back, moose enjoyed prime habitat and abundant food. Their population grew and so did their visibility.
But now the trees are so tall "you can't see 20 yards off the roads anymore," Elowe said. "So you can't see the moose that are there."
Silliker, however, isn't buying that theory. He still sees plenty of highly visible areas right off the roads, he said, but there aren't any moose in them. He also questions why moose aren't as visible on the roads as they once were.
A simpler explanation, he said, is that after 20 years of hunting there are just "a helluva lot fewer moose." The ones that remain have learned to fear people and flee the sound of vehicles. He'd like to see a serious study of how moose behavior has changed in the past two decades.
"Have we altered their behavior so much now that when we do get to see them, it's at night?" Silliker asked. "And does that then make them more dangerous and increase the road hazard?"
George Smith, executive director of the 14,000-member Sportsman's Alliance of Maine, scoffs at the idea that a one-week hunting season involving a small percentage of the population could make moose wilder. Even if it did, he said, isn't that a good thing?
If moose aren't on the roads, they aren't a traffic hazard. If they're more wary, then bagging a moose can no longer be criticized as unsportsmanlike or described as like shooting a billboard.
"I object to these people who think there's something wrong when (moose) don't stand around," Smith said. "Is this bad, that a wild animal acts wild, instead of like a cow?"
Arguments about moose are as much a part of the Maine landscape as the moose itself. But even the arguments are on hold until there's more evidence about exactly what's happening to Maine's moose.
Last year, Elowe expected to increase moose-hunting permits substantially for the 2001 season. Now he doesn't dare.
"We want to be conservative," Elowe said, "and I know we don't have the information base that I feel comfortable with right now to go higher."
Staff writer Roberta Scruggs can be contacted at 791-6452 or at: rscruggs@pressherald.com