DNR wildlife researchers tackling moose mystery
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Welcome to the DNR's research project to help answer why Minnesota's moose are dying at unusually high rates.
A precipitous 35 percent decline in the population from 2012 to 2013 prompted DNR to suspend moose hunting in Minnesota and underscores the need for this project.
Check this page for regular updates from moose researchers, an interactive map, closer looks into the varied aspects of this pioneering project as well as photographs and video from the research activities going on in Minnesota's northwoods.
Using funding from the Environmental and Natural Resources Trust Fund, the $1.2 million project is using the latest technology and an unprecedented amount of DNR staff to learn more about the mortality of this iconic species. It will build on research that is ongoing or planned by other agencies and universities.
Moose inhabiting Minnesota always have been on the southern edge of their species range. Historically, moose have occupied the northwest and northeast portions of the state.
During the last two decades, northwest moose have all but disappeared from the landscape despite attempts to improve habitat and the discontinuation of a hunting season. The northeast moose population is on the verge of a similar decline.
Even among veteran researchers now out in the field, the massive and majestic animals continue to be a source of awe. And the possibility of their disappearance from Minnesota remains troubling.
"When you watch a collared moose disappear back into the brush you hope the data will help unravel the mortality mystery that is puzzling wildlife managers," said Erika Butler, DNR wildlife veterinarian and leader of the adult moose mortality portion of the research project.
Moose Capture and Collaring
Moose research slideshow. This slideshow requires the latest version of Adobe Flash Player.
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Watch as moose are captured and collared in northern Minnesota.
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DNR News
02/06/2013: Moose population drops dramatically; hunting season will not open Full story
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In the news
High Tech Research Targets Moose Mortality Mystery (WCCO, Minneapolis-St. Paul, CBS MN)
What's Killing Minnesota's Moose (St. Paul Pioneer Press, St. Paul, MediaNews Group)
Eyewitness News Special Report: A Desperate Measure (WDIO, Duluth, ABC)
Eyewitness News Special Report: Communities Concerned About Moose (WDIO, Duluth, ABC)
Moose hunt canceled; DNR works to answer population decline (KARE, Minneapolis-St. Paul, NBC)
More moose information:
Study Block 31B
Major lakes in this area west of Silver Bay are Leglar, Marble and Kane. To date, no moose have been collared here.
Study Block 31A
Major lakes in this area northwest of Silver Bay are Katherine, Cloquet and Fry. To date, no moose have been collared here.
Study Block 39
Major lakes in this area south and west of Isabella and east of County Road 2 are McDougal and Greenwood. To date, no moose have been collared here.
Study Block 80
Major lakes in this area southeast of Isabella and northeast of Finland are Balsam, Cramer and Doyle. To date, no moose have been collared here.
Study Block 79b
George Crosby Manitou State Park is in this area along the North Shore south of the Temperance River and north of Minnesota Highway 1. To date, no moose have been collared here.
Study Block 79A
Major lakes in this area along the North Shore south of Grand Marais and north of the Temperance River are Deer Yard and Caribou. To date, no moose have been collared here.
Study Block 79B
George Crosby Manitou State Park is in this area along the North Shore south of the Temperance River and north of Minnesota Highway 1. To date, no moose have been collared here.
Slinging a dead moose
Retrieving a dead moose within hours with the carcass intact allows researchers, working with the University of Minnesota veterinary lab in St. Paul, to gather crucial information about the animal's health before it died and accurately determine the proximate and ultimate causes of death. Most dead moose have to be retrieved – sometimes in pieces – using snowmobiles, ATVs, canoes and hard labor. With calf collaring operations underway, the research team was able to sling this collared cow with the capture helicopter directly to the bed of a waiting pickup truck bound for St. Paul. The cow had been dead less than 24 hours. (5/9/2013)
Study Block 24
Major lakes in this area north and east of Isabella and west of Windy Lake are Dumbell, Hogback and Silver Island. To date, no moose have been collared here.
Study Block 25
Major lakes in this area west of the Sawbill Trail are Fourmile, Elbow, Frear, Timber and Wilson. So far, researchers have collared three bulls and four cows here.
A wolf kill
The remains of one of study block 76's moose after a wolf kill. About 20 percent of adult moose die annually, although the exact causes of that mortality are not well understood. Previous research has demonstrated that hunting and predation by wolves are not the primary causes of adult deaths.
Study Block 77
Major lakes in this area east of the Sawbill Trail are Christine, White Pine, Clara and Crescent. Researchers collared five bulls and seven cows here.
