Maine moose experiment may help herd thrive

By V. Paul Reynolds

Over the years, Maine’s moose harvest numbers have varied from fall to fall. As one of the state’s most popular big game hunts, it has a lot of public visibility. Maine citizens – those who hunt, as well as those who simply enjoy moose watching along the state’s wetlands and forest clear cuts – pay close attention to the success rate of moose hunters. Sometimes, they draw conclusions, not always supported by the facts or the biology.

When the harvest is down, armchair biologists tend to express concern that the state may be over harvesting during the hunt.  According to Bangor Daily News outdoor writer, Pete Warner, last fall’s moose harvest resulted in the lowest hunter success rate in the hunt’s 41-year history!

Is this reason for concern about our moose population?

Last fall the hunter success rate was 68 percent; the fall before, 2020, it was 76 percent.  The 68 percent hunter success rate equates to a harvest last fall of 2,353 moose. The Department issued 3,520 moose permits last fall.

Weather is always a critical determinant of the moose harvest. During the September bull hunt last fall the hunter success rate was a robust 77 percent! Conversely, unusually warm weather during the October cow hunt brought the overall antlerless moose harvest down in a significant way.

Of more lasting significance, perhaps, are the statistics generated by the experimental hunt in northwest Maine called the adaptive hunt in Unit 4A. In an attempt to determine if lethal tick loads on adult moose and calves can be reduced by culling moose numbers in a given area, hunters in this 4A Unit were strongly encouraged to take moose calves, which have been hit hard by winter ticks.

According to Maine moose research leader, Lee  Kantar, hunters enjoyed a 50 percent success rate in this Adaptive Unit. In this experimental hunt, there were three times as many calves harvested as compared with other areas in the “traditional” antlerless seasons throughout the state.

For the casual observer, targeting moose calves may seem counter intuitive, sort of like “eating the seed corn.” Biologists call this strategy “compensatory mortality.” Winter ticks, which kill calves at a higher rate than adult moose, thrive on moose densities. The idea is to reduce tick densities by reducing moose densities, thus saving moose over the long haul.

Kantar is building a database that will help direct this experiment and produce scientific conclusions. Already, in Adaptive Unit 4A, Kantar and his team have collared 70 moose calves this winter with GPS locators. So far in the 4A Adaptive Unit, 735 young moose have been collared and studied in this manner.

In all of this moose management strategy, the winter tick seems to be the wild card. With moose, more is not always better. We may have to live with fewer moose, and even lower hunter success rates, in order to have a healthy, thriving moose herd in Maine.

The author is editor of the “Northwoods Sporting Journal.” He is also a Maine guide and host of a weekly radio program — “Maine Outdoors” — heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on “The Voice of Maine News – Talk Network.” He has authored three books; online purchase information is available at www.maineoutdoorpublications.com. or www.sportingjournal.com. Contact email — vpaulr@tds.net.