MOOSE IN THE GREATER YELLOWSTONE REGION

Emerging Threat to Moose

Moose have been recently declining in North America across their southern range and have been plagued by disease, climate change, habitat encroachment and predation. A regional moose die-off occurred in Wyoming during the winter of 2018-2019, and this initiated a collaborative study of VIEW with its partners to investigate the cause.  A pilot study was performed on moose health including VIEW field wildlife veterinarians to investigate cause of death and monitor moose migration.  

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Success Snapshots

Multifactorial causes existed in many moose mortalities:

 

  • Winter tick-associated deaths occurred more in calves than adults

  • Adenovirus hemorrhagic disease (AHD) should be considered for future moose mortalities 

  • The study also served as a catalyst for further investigation into mortalities and host-parasite interactions within the region

VIEW's Involvment

VIEW worked with state and federal agencies and universities to identify and mitigate the health issues facing moose in the Greater Yellowstone area. We implemented VIEW’s proven approach -  training, infrastructure and research.   ​Specialized wildlife veterinarians trained wildlife professionals to include health into their conservation efforts.  VIEW also contributed GPS collars, ultrasound diagnostics and used VIEW’s proprietary wildlife health database WHIS to digitally track and analyze wildlife health trends.

WDA Article