Division of Wildlife
DOW RELOCATES MOOSE AND HER CALF
Wildlife officials successfully move moose and calf
Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) officials successfully tranquilized and relocated a cow moose and her calf Tuesday night near Interstate Highway 70 in Summit County. The moose had repeatedly attempted to cross I-70, and officials were concerned for the safety of motorists as well as the moose.
"Lisa Wolfe, Mike Miller (DOW wildlife veterinarians) and their wildlife technicians conducted about as smooth and professional a relocation of a cow and calf moose that I have ever heard of," said Tom Kroening, a DOW district wildlife manager who led the relocation effort.
In addition to the risks involved in dealing with a cow protecting her calf, working near the interstate complicated the operation considerably.
"We were concerned because a cow can be quite cantankerous when she's with her calf. We also didn't want to scare them onto the highway," said Andy Holland, a wildlife biologist in Hot Sulphur Springs who assisted in the relocation.
However, officials found the moose in a drainage ditch several hundred yards below I-70, and were able to tranquilize them safely without having to deal with interstate traffic.
The moose were moved by trailer to their new home in the Williams Fork drainage.
"They both came out of immobilization really well and wandered off into the night. Both looked to be in great shape," Holland said.
Steady traffic, faster speeds and larger vehicles have led to increased automobile accidents with large wildlife such as deer, elk, black bear, and moose, particularly at dawn and dusk. Holland reported three moose-automobile collisions in the Hot Sulphur Springs area in the last six months. All resulted in moose fatalities but-remarkably-no human injuries.
Holland urged motorists to exercise caution.
"You might not see them on a rainy night. For the animals' sake and your own, keep your speeds down in areas with large mammals," he said.
Automobile collisions with moose are extremely dangerous and can cause considerable damage to vehicles and their owners. Because a moose is so tall and heavy, its body can easily crush a car when its legs are knocked from under it.
"It's the way they're built," Holland said. "Their legs are so long and their bodies are so big.
"Colorado's Shiras moose (Alces alces shirasi) are the state's largest big game animal, with adults weighing up to 1,200 pounds and bulls measuring up to six feet at the shoulder. They have very long legs that allow them to wade into a lake and eat plants off the bottom or walk through deep snow in winter. Moose hair is very thick and dark brown to black.
"Moose are very difficult to see at night because they're so dark. Unless you get eye shine you won't see them at night," Holland said.
"They're hard to see at night, since they're black," agreed Jim Hicks, a DOW area biologist in Steamboat Springs.
Hicks reported few problems with moose and human encounters in the Steamboat area. He said the moose are rarely seen there and don't venture onto highways.
"They've acclimated to staying away from people, especially now that they're being hunted," he said.
As recently as 25 years ago, moose were extremely rare in Colorado, with only a few stray moose wandering into northern Colorado from Wyoming herds. In 1978, the DOW arranged for the first transplant of 12 moose to Colorado's North Park region near Walden. In 1979, another dozen were released in the same region. The North Park population grew and expanded into the Laramie River Valley, and was boosted by an addition of 12 moose in the Valley in 1987.
The success of the North Park population allowed DOW officials to move part of that population along with added individuals from Wyoming and Utah and release about 100 moose in southern Colorado near Creede.
"The moose populations are doing well," Holland said. "The populations are increasing and their range is expanding." Biologists say current moose populations are estimated at 500 animals in North Park and 250 in Middle Park with ranges expanding into Summit County, Gunnison, western Larimer and Boulder Counties and new areas in Routt County. Colorado's population is now estimated at between 1,300 and 1,400 individuals statewide.
For more information about Colorado's moose, visit Living with Wildlife in Moose Country.