animalphiles

Pregnant moose in Yellowstone like human company

When it’s time for moose to give birth in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, they head to where it is safest from predators – namely closer to people, according to a new study by the Wildlife Conservation Society.  Published in the Royal Society’s journal Biology Letters, the study says that moose avoid predation of their calves by grizzly bears by moving closer to roads and other infrastructure prior to giving birth.

Wildlife Conservation Society researchers tracked both moose and bears, finding that pregnant moose in Greater Yellowstone have shifted their movements each year for the past decade about 125 meters closer to roads during calving season, specifically to avoid road-shy brown bears, which can prey heavily on moose calves.

“Given that brown bears avoid areas within approximately 500 meters of roads in Yellowstone and elsewhere, moose mothers have apparently buffered against predation on offspring using roadside corridors,” said Wildlife Conservation Society biologist Dr. Joel Berger, the study’s author.

Berger also cited similar examples where prey species tend to use humans as cover from predation, including vervet monkeys in Kenya and axis deer in Nepal that avoiding big cats by staying close to ranger stations.

“The study’s results indicate that moose and other prey species find humans more benign and hence move to humans for safety whereas predators do not because we humans tend to be less kind to predators,” Berger added.

According to Berger, the results also reveal that national parks are not necessarily showcases of natural ecosystems, but instead can actually affect natural biological events in ways park managers haven’t yet imagined.
Photo: Joel Berger/WCS

Albino moose filmed in Norway

A fisherman in Norway made his biggest catch with his video camera recently. Kurt Are Boine Nikkinen spotted a white moose in Tanadalen in northern Norway.

"It stood and looked at me," Nikkinen told Aftenposten.no, "It was completely white and had red eyes."

The Finnmark man had heard rumors of the white moose before and there have been sightings of the animal in the area. Nikkinen believes the moose is a youngster, about a year and a half old. A hunter himself, he said he could never shoot the white moose.

"It would make a special trophy but it won't be on my wall. Such a fine animal should be protected," he said. See Nikkinen's video at Aftenposten.no.

Alaska moose on collision course with disaster

Snow is piled so deep in and around Anchorage this year, the local moose are taking the easy path whenever they can. That means the large creatures are meandering down roads, sidewalks and groomed trials, making encounters with humans (and cars) more common. Some have even been showing up downtown. Wildlife advocates worry the death toll from moose-auto collisions could be triple the average.

Read more from Associated Press.