For the second year, Van Riper State Park in the western Upper Peninsula served as the "base camp" for Michigan's moose research project.
The project began last winter, with the collaring of 20 moose, to help learn more about the region's moose herd and why population levels have stagnated. This winter, the team worked from Feb. 14-17 with a goal of capturing 40 moose – a total of 41 new moose were captured, and two more moose were recollared, over the four days. The 41 moose included 20 adult females, 10 adult males and 11 calves. The team now has a total of 56 collars deployed, including the moose collared in last year's capture efforts.
Moose team members said this was a successful capture event and staff worked together incredibly well to reach its goal. These moose, and the biological samples and collar data they provide, will be invaluable in helping the researchers better understand moose survival and factors that are influencing population growth in the western Upper Peninsula moose population.
Read more in this Showcasing the DNR story. And check out the DNR's "Wildtalk" podcast to hear from someone who was on the ground for the planning and rollout of the effort to safely capture and collar several dozen moose. Visit Michigan.gov/DNRWildtalk for the March episode.