Moose find a new home in Wallowa County
Wallowa County Chieftain, Dec 28, 2009 [here]
ENTERPRISE - Wildlife biologists collared four moose in the northern Blue Mountains of Wallowa County in January 2008, marking the first collaring of the animals in Oregon and an increased effort to trace moose activity in the state.
The radio and GPS collars will help biologists better understand seasonal movements, habitat use, and reproductive rates of the state’s small but growing moose population, which is conservatively estimated to number 35.
The four moose collared were cows; high winds prevented biologists from also collaring an adult male. The team will try again later in the winter, in time to track a bull’s movement during the September breeding season, when they tend to move great distances. …
While moose may have occurred in Oregon in the past, there are no references to them being found here in modern times. The moose established in northeastern Oregon today are naturally dispersing into the state from adjacent Washington and Idaho. In 1922, five moose were brought to western Oregon from Alaska. These animals were hand-raised and soon became a problem to towns and farms, so the transplant failed.
“The first sighting of a moose that we know about was in the 1960s along the Snake River,” noted Vic Coggins, ODFW district wildlife biologist. “Individual moose have been observed sporadically in northeastern Oregon over the past 40 years.”
As North America’s largest ungulates, the moose’s size and the male’s uniquely-shaped antlers give it much of its mystique. Moose prefer the habitat of burned and logged areas with an abundance of willow and other deciduous growth. Temperature is probably the limiting factor in their expansion. … [more]
Note: if temperature is the limiting factor, and we are experiencing global warming, then why are moose being found farther south????? Answer: armchair ecology has about as much validity as armchair climatology, i.e. zip.