Moose

Status and Management in New York State

Art by Jean Gawalt

What follows is a summary of events relating to moose that occurred in New York State between April 13, 1999 and May 15, 2000. Not all records occurring during this period have been entered into the database, and there has also been some editing or additions of information reported on previous years.

Background

Moose entered the state on a continuous basis in 1980, after having been absent since the 1860's. We collected reports of sightings between 1980 and 1993 as an informal way of monitoring the species progress.

On March 29,1993, the DEC Commissioner formally endorsed a moose policy. That policy instituted a number of actions we would follow until the moose population, or our understanding of it, changed substantially. The Department (1) supported the return of moose in the northern 14 counties of the state; (2) rejected a proposal to accelerate the natural return of moose through a translocation program; (3) recognized the need to monitor the species' progress both to ensure the species success and to meet public demand for information about moose: and (4) recognized the need to address nuisance situations.

Estimated Population Size

We estimate that there are roughly 80-110 moose in New York State this year. It is at best a rough guess as we have no standardized procedure in place for estimating numbers of moose. It is based on animals and tracks observed during 1997-1998 mid winter flights, collared animals that were not observed on those flights, and reports of uncollared animals wintering in areas where we did not see moose or tracks. We then assumed that we were aware of only about half of the moose that were out there. Finally we also assume that the population is increasing at about the same rate as Vermont's (10-15% per year). As we cannot test these assumptions it is impossible to determine the accuracy of the estimate.

1999-2000 Sightings

This was the second year in which we did not solicit, or record reported sightings of uncollared moose in the state. We believe that we have learned much of what we can learn from these observations and that additional data of this nature will not contribute in a substantial or cost-effective way to our understanding of moose in New York.

We did continue to collect all reports of collared moose, moose vehicle collisions, and moose mortalities. We added 105 of these reports to the database that occurred between April 13, 1999 and May 15, 2000. Of these, 37 were observations of collared animals reported by the public and seven were telemetry fixes by staff at the College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry (ESF). Fifty were observations or telemetry fixes of radio-collared moose made by DEC staff, and six involved the collaring or releasing of collared animals by DEC. Four were reports of dead moose and we received one report of a moose being hit by a vehicle, but leaving the scene.

As of May 15, 2000, our database now includes 2,777 records of sightings in New York since 1980. Of these, 211 were entered this reporting year, including 106 records of collared animals seen prior to the beginning of this reporting period. Many of these records were recently recovered files of collared animals monitored by staff at the Syracuse College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry (ESF) during the 1980's.

New York's moose population is now large enough that we believe it is secure and firmly established. At the same time, we are still many years away from a population that is large enough to sustain a substantial regulated hunting season, or large enough to generate widespread concerns about the need to reduce problems such as vehicle collisions. For now, we do continue to log reports of collared animals provided by the public. We continue to monitor collared animals on roughly a monthly basis, and locate uncollared animals during occasional mid-winter aerial surveys. We also attempt to collar cows when we believe we have a reasonable chance of success and bulls on a case by case basis. We continue to deal with nuisance animals by radio collaring and relocating them.

Moose Observations from Bowhunter Survey

Last reporting period, DEC initiated a statewide program to have bowhunters maintain a wildlife observation log for selected species, including moose. Roughly 4,200 bowhunters participated this year, 208 in areas likely to have moose. Two hunters reported seeing a moose this year, as compared to three in the last reporting period.

Status of Collared Moose

We had seven radio-collared moose at some time within the reporting period that had functioning radios. Another radio collared moose (bull #O8) died years ago but was recovered this year and is reported later in the text. On May 23, 1999 we recovered the radio collar of cow moose B-18 from the top of Cellar Mountain (Lake Pleasant, Hamilton county). The buckle had broken, but the transmitter was functioning properly.

Previously Collared Animals

There were three moose that had been collared in earlier reporting periods that still had functioning transmitters. They included:

Cow #B17. This cow had been captured in the city of Albany on July of 1997 and released at Perkins Clearing (Lake Pleasant, Hamilton county). Since her release, she tends to spend summers in the vicinity of Honondaga Lake, (Ohio, Hamilton county), and winters in the southern portion of the West Canada Lakes region (Morehouse, Hamilton county).

This winter she moved about six miles east of her former winter quarters to Pillsbury Lake. In the spring she traveled 15 miles westward, returning to her 1999 summer range at the south end of Honondaga Lake.

We had 11 reports for this moose for the reporting period, including one sighting by the public. A hunter saw it and her calf north of the West Canada Lakes, on Otter Brook (Arietta, Hamilton county). This is the only reported observation of this moose by the public since her release in 1997. We confirmed the presence of a calf during our flight of February 2, 2000. This is her second calf, and she remains the only collared cow to successfully raise young. She was not seen in the company of any other moose during the reporting period.

Cow #Y6. She was collared on February 13, 1998 at Cooks Reservoir (Providence, Saratoga county) and has since moved considerably within roughly a 12 mile radius of her collaring location. She has been located primarily on the plateau east of Sacandaga Lake during the spring, summer, and fall. During the winter she leaves the plateau and travels a few miles to the south.

We have 30 reports of this moose for the reporting period, including seven by the public. We have no reports of her with a calf this year, she was sighted twice in early December of 1999 with another full sized moose of undetermined sex.

Cow #GY19. This cow was removed from the village of Webster, Monroe county on July 16, 1998 and released at the College of Environmental Science and Forestry field station at Huntington Forest (Newcomb, Essex county). It was a two-year-old cow at the time. The cow stayed on the forest for the remainder of the year, and was joined for the fall and winter months by a subadult bull.

It left the forest on April 15, 1999 and has headed northwest since with remarkably little course deviation. She was first reported near the shore of the St. Lawrence River on January 4 and wintered along the shore on islands in the vicinity of Chippewa Bay (Hampton, St. Lawrence county). The last report in the state of New York came on April 28, 2000. It has since been seen in Ontario, Canada, headed in the general direction of Algonquin Provincial Park.

This moose was reported 35 times this period, including 19 sightings by the public, 6 telemetry fixes by ESF staff and 10 by DEC staff. It was not reported with a calf in either 1998 or 1999.

Bull B10. This subadult bull was relocated from a dairy farm near the village of Croghan, (New Bremen, Lewis county) on October 6, 1999 and released 12 miles to the east in the town of Webb, Herkimer county. It has been reported four times since all telemetry fixes by DEC staff, and has traveled widely. The animal had traveled roughly 25 miles south to the vicinity of Honondaga Lake (Ohio, Hamilton county), by December 8, 2000. It then traveled 10 miles west to McKeever (Webb, Herkimer county) by February 8, 2000, and 12 miles south by March 22, 2000. It returned to the Honondaga Lake region by May 9, 2000.

We have records of five observations for this animal during the reporting period, three by the public and two by DEC staff.

Bull O11. This adult bull was first collared as a subadult on October 14, 1995. At this time it was associating with cattle on a farm near Canton, St. Lawrence county. It wintered that year a few few miles north of Cranberry Lake (Clifton, St. Lawrence county) and spent the summer of 1996 near the north end of Long Lake, (Long Lake, Hamilton county). In the fall it moved westward, reaching Northern Cayuga county by September 23, 1996. It was removed from a dairy farm there on October 19, 1996 and released in the Moose River Plains, roughly seven miles southeast of Inlet, (Inlet, Hamilton county). By winter it had moved eight miles westward, slipped its collar sometime after April 16, 1997, and disappeared.

From 1997 and 1999 we received reports of an ear-tagged moose seen occasionally in southern Lewis and parts of Herkimer counties that we believe was this animal, although we could not confirm the animal's identity. We were able to dart the animal near West Leyden (Lewis, Lewis county) on January 23, 2000 where it had been visiting a group of cattle on a daily basis for several weeks. The moose remained within a few miles of that location until at least March 22, 2000. We have been unable to locate a signal since.

We have records of five observations during this reporting period, three by the public, and two by DEC staff.

Cow Y22. This two-year-old cow appeared on the western edge of Scotia, Schenectady county, on June 22, 1999 where it was captured and later released at the ESF field station at the Huntington Forest, (Newcomb, Essex county). It died at the release site of complications relating to fractured cervical vertebrae. We do not know if it sustained the injuries prior to, or during capture. This is the first relocation mortality in the state since 1980.

Bull GB4. This yearling bull was collared in the Village of Raceville (Granville, Washington county) on April 11, 2000. It appeared to be acting normally, albeit with more tolerance of people than most moose, and seemed thin, but not emaciated. It had not moved more than a mile by the end of the reporting period.

We have four records of reports of this animal, all by DEC staff.

Mortalities

We had six moose reported dead this year, although two had clearly died in earlier years. This brings our total number or recovered dead moose in New York State to 43. Vehicle collisions is our single largest source of known mortality (20), followed by unknown causes (16) (Table 1).

Vehicle Collisions

There was one moose vehicle collision reported this year in which the moose left the scene, and another where it died on the spot.

The non-fatal encounter occurred on July 10, 1999 on Corinth Road (Queensbury, Warren county) and involved a bull of unknown age. The car was almost at a stop to avoid the collision, but the moose ran into the vehicle. It then hobbled into the woods. The car had to be towed away, and the driver sustained a minor cut on one hand.

This is the 8^th occasion since 1980 that a moose has been reported leaving the scene of a collision with a motor vehicle, or reported alive with injuries suggesting it had been in a collision with a vehicle (Table 1).

A two-year-old cow moose was struck by a vehicle and killed near midnight, on June 19, 1999. It was located on Rt. 22, roughly 70 meters south of the intersection with Waites Road (White Creek, Washington county). The animal was incapacitated and had to be humanely destroyed by the state police. We received no accident report on the incident, but heard no rumors of injury to the occupants.

Relocation Fatality

On June 22, 1999, DEC staff attempted to relocated a two-year-old cow moose from the Scotia Industrial park, (Glenville, Schenectady county). The animal died five hours later after being released at the Huntington Forest, (Newcomb, Essex county). Necropsy revealed that the animal died of complications associated with a fractured neck vertebrae. We do not know if the injuries occurred prior to capture, or after the moose was free standing within the transport trailer.

This is the second fatality associated with relocating a moose within the state of New York. The first occurred in 1980.

Other Moose Mortalities

There were four moose recovered this period that were merely skeletons or parts of skeletons by the time they were discovered.

On September 22, 1999 we received a report that a man had recovered a skull with antlers, in the Perkins Clearing region (Lake Pleasant, Hamilton county). The person proved to be completely uncooperative, fearing that we were going to confiscate the skull. As a result, our only communications were through a third party. The individual in possession of the skull would not take us to the collection site, allow us to examine the skull, or even reveal his name.

We have seen photos of the skull, and it appears to be an adult with about a 35-40 inch spread. The skull was in excellent condition, with all the major nasal bones intact. It and the antlers appeared bleached, suggesting that the animal had been dead for a number of years. The lack of algae, or stains where the skull had laid on the ground suggest that it had been cleaned since recovery, or that it had not been lying in the woods for years.

On November 1, 1999, a hunter discovered the bones and collar of bull #08 while he was deer hunting about three miles east of Cooper Lake (Greig, Lewis county). It appears that the animal died in the late winter of 1995 at almost three years of age. This was about eight miles to the southeast of where it had last been collared in February of 1994. The collared malfunctioned shortly after being attached. There was no indication of the cause of death. The hunter was surprised that the animal had been dead so long without being discovered, as it was lying with a few yards of a standard route used by him and his hunting partners when hunting.

On December 1, 1999, the bones of a two years old cow were found near Hills Pond, Hills Pond Road (Hampton, Washington county). There was no evidence to suggest the cause of death except that there were no marks on the bones to suggest gunshot or massive trauma. The ground surrounding the skeleton was disturbed suggesting that the animal had struggled prior to death.

On May 16, 2000, a fisherman reported finding the skeleton of a young bull near the shore of the Bog River (Piercefield, St. Lawrence county). We have yet to see the jaw to confirm the animal's age but suspect it was two, or perhaps three, years old. The animal had clearly died in the late winter or early spring of 2000 and the carcass had been thoroughly scavenged, with only the skull, vertebrae, and a few other bones remaining. There was no indication of the cause of death.

Nuisance Animals

We had several reports of bulls with dairy herds in the agricultural region between the western Adirondacks and the Tug Hill Plateau. One required the attention of staff, resulting in the collaring and relocation of bull B10 (see above).

Reproduction

Only one of the three radio collared cows (B17) succeeded in raising a calf this year. We did not keep track of reports of uncollared cows with calves, although some were reported.

Flights

We had only three flights during the entire winter of 1999-2000 that afforded any opportunity to search for uncollared moose. We were able to search only one new location suspected of having moose, but found none. We did search Perkins Clearing, long known to contain moose, and were able to find one place with moose tracks. We found an uncollared cow and calf at a known wintering site in the town of Franklin, Franklin County. We also found a group of six moose and a single individual at another known Franklin county wintering site.

Table 1. Summary of Moose Events In New York State by Year 1980-1999
Year (May 15-14)	# of Reported Sightings by the Public	# of Collisions Survived by Moose *	Mortalities				Minimum # of Cows with Calves	# of Animals Relocated
Year (May 15-14)	# of Reported Sightings by the Public	# of Collisions Survived by Moose *	Road Kill	Gun Shot	Other**	Total	Minimum # of Cows with Calves	# of Animals Relocated
1980-81	40	0	0	1	1 (D)	2	0	1
1981-82	29	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1982-83	51	0	0	1	0	1	0	0
1983-84	90	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1984-85	92	0	0	1	0	1	0	0
1985-86	72	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
1986-87	55	0	0	0	1 (I)	1	0	2
1987-88	33	0	0	0	1 (U)	1	0	1
1988-89	15	2	0	0	0	0	0	1
1989-90	27	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1990-91	81	0	1	0	0	1	1	0
1991-92	85	0	1	0	0	1	1	0
1992-93	143	1	3	1	1 (U)	5	2	0
1993-94	216	0	4	1	2 (B)	7	4	1
1994-95	233	2	1	0	1 (B)	2	4	0
1995-96	256	1	4	0	1 (B)	5	4	0
1996-97	201	0	2	0	0	2	9	1
1997-98	340	2	2	2	1 (D)	5	6	2
1998-99	---***	0	1	0	1 (B) 1 (U)	3	---	1
1999-2000	---	1	1	0	4 (B) 1 (D)	6	---	2
Total	2059	8	20	7	16	43	31	14

* Includes animals observed being hit and leaving the scene, and others with injuries attributed to collisions.

** D=died during relocation, I=died of infection, U=carcass recovered largely intact, but cause of death not determined, B=skeleton recovered

*** --- indicates that these data are no longer collected.

Moose-related Legislation

Effective July 6, 1999 the State Legislature amended section 11-0915 of the Environmental Conservation Law concerning the disposition of moose carcasses resulting from vehicle collisions. It allows people who accidentally kill a moose with a motor vehicle, and who's vehicle has been damaged, to obtain a permit from a law enforcement officer to keep the carcass. Should they decline the opportunity, the officer can issue a permit to another party.