GREENVILLE, Maine - The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has begun year two of a planned five-year study that seeks to provide a greater understanding of the health of Maine's moose population, in particular, factors that have an impact on survival and reproduction.
Again this year, researchers are using a helicopter and nets to capture and put GPS collars on female moose and calves. IF&W biologist Lee Kantar says the collars transmit twice a day for three or four years, which allows researchers to track moose movement. The devices also alert officials when an animal dies.
Kantar says the biggest thing researchers have learned since starting this project was that last year was a bad one for winter tick infestation.
"You know, winter ticks, when you have heavy infestation, can really cause problems, especially for calves," Kantar says. "So we lost quite a few of those calves last winter in that year."
Kantar says they hope to understand how often these bad winter tick years occur. This year, the team plans to capture and place GPS collars on three adult female moose and 35 calves around Jackman and Greenville.
