Outdoors: Hunting season could be needed for moose

Moose likely got their American name from the nearby Narragansett Indians of Rhode Island, where modern reports of them have been very few — until recently.

Although Maine has by far the largest population of moose in New England (30,000), they’re expanding their range and numbers throughout the region. The New York-New England population has grown to about 50,000 today. Southern New England has become the safety valve for absorbing the pressure of excess numbers building up in New Hampshire and Vermont.

Moose warning signs are on the increase, too, on numerous local highways just north of Worcester. We often see moose droppings while pheasant hunting at the Nimrod Sportsman’s Club in Holden/Princeton. On Routes 2, 122 and Interstate 190, there is always a possibility of encountering one. Many are asking why we don’t have a hunting season for them. Some biologists feel we probably could — and maybe should.

Moose are unique, ungainly and charming. Their large, unusual, distinguishing snout — they are truly the Cyrano of the deer world — appears to help them dine under water on aquatic plants that give them the sodium they critically need. In winter, they’ll endanger drivers as they lick salted roads to satisfy that need. They’re the largest deer in the world. The tall legs that help them negotiate deep snow make them appear even more massive, and place their heavy bodies at lethal windshield level upon impact with vehicles.

In Sweden, which has a moose population of about 400,000 and an annual harvest over 100,000 (more than the harvest in all of North America), moose meat is served in most homes and many restaurants and hotels. It’s not just because Swedes love the delicious meat. Moose need control as they can cause many fatal collisions when overpopulated.

Since wolves individually can consume about a dozen moose a year, the problem diminishes wherever wolf packs still hunt. Alaska, wanting more moose meat for its residents, has permitted large-scale wolf elimination projects. No longer having wolves, New England must depend on hunters to control our region’s moose population. Whether we like it or not, we have become the essential predator.

To cope with the high cost of collisions in vehicle damage and human lives, Sweden has spent a fortune fencing highways and designing cars that can survive moose crashes. On my recent trip to Newfoundland, I saw the beginnings of similar investments, including high-tech highway cameras, sensors, flashing lights and signs warning drivers of animals that might cross the road ahead.

Newfoundland had at least 660 moose collisions last year. The toll on life and property there and the ever-present danger in highway driving have made the vast majority of residents supportive of moose hunters. Millions of dollars are being spent on building barriers along highways that are particularly dangerous. Massachusetts may have to implement similar costly protections if our moose population surges much higher.

Local moose, in the opinion of MassWildlife’s Bill Davis, have increased to the point they now could sustain a regulated, limited harvest to maintain current, relatively safe populations. But it’s not up to MassWildlife scientists. Legislators have to approve a moose hunt here.

State Rep. Anne Gobi, a noted advocate for sportsmen, has filed a bill annually to proceed with such a hunt. But timid or uninformed legislators on Beacon Hill have stalled. A pre-emptive, limited hunting season to keep the population at present levels could prevent many future fatal accidents, provide families a great supply of exceptional meat, and give scientists at check stations much valuable data for sound future management, ultimately benefiting both man and moose.

If sure-to-be-coveted permits were auctioned off, as they are in several New England states, the winning bids that average about $4,000 could help local wildlife management, education or habitat acquisition.

Some animal rights advocates may object to a moose hunt. They’d much prefer to have natural predators like wolves take care of the problem.

If you’ve ever witnessed a wolf pack killing a moose or a caribou, as I once did in the high Arctic above Hudson Bay, you know their method of killing is bloody and slow. Wolves kill with massive bites, typically ripping open large wounds in the legs and underbelly, causing severe hemorrhaging, gradually weakening the animal as it’s torn apart and eaten in its place. The pack attacks from the flanks and rear, while one wolf bites the highly sensitive snout, often paralyzing it. The world of tooth and claw is hardly as quick or humane as a hunter’s bullet.

One factor, hopefully much further down the road, eventually might control the moose population in Massachusetts for us — global warming. We’re already seeing major species changes in New England. Southern birds like the cardinal, titmouse, mockingbird, Carolina wren and red-bellied woodpecker have moved up here in great numbers during my lifetime. Southern moths are arriving here now as well, while our northern moths are disappearing.

In this great shift, some species are going to be winners — a few, surely, that we will not want — and some will be losers that are now very dear to us. For better or worse, we may gain many more species than we lose. Biodiversity increases proportionately with warmth, unless drought and desertification enter the picture.

As I shared moose chili last week with Wayne MacCallum, director of Massachusetts Fish & Wildlife, he alluded to moose physiologically changing in winter to deal with extreme low temperatures, for which evolution has made them well suited. Massachusetts is near the southern limit of their range. Since they can’t tolerate warm winters, further warming could eliminate their population here. But until that dreaded time, we should wisely manage this special resource — and protect Massachusetts residents as well.

Mark Blazis can be contacted by email at markblazis@charter.net.

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