On the first day of the field work in mid-February, crews handled and released four moose. Two died while recovering from sedation, including a mature cow and a young bull.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe work we do involves risks associated with wildlife capture, and we take great precautions to ensure those risks are minimized,\u201d said Tyler Petroelje, Northern Michigan<\/a> wildlife research specialist for the state Department of Natural Resources.<\/p>\n File photo of aerial moose population survey<\/p>\n The process involves a helicopter crew flushing a moose from the woods and shooting it with a tranquilizer dart. A ground team collects biological samples, fastens a radio-collar around the animal\u2019s neck, and then injects a drug that reverses the sedatives.<\/p>\n It typically takes about 45 minutes to complete the entire process.<\/p>\n \u201cThese moose, and the biological samples and collar data they provide, will be invaluable in helping us better understand survival and factors that are limiting population growth in the core moose herd,\u201d Petroelje said.<\/p>\n Field crew with sedated bull moose<\/p>\n Researchers have already collected 22,000 GPS locations from the newly collared moose, in addition to the more than 200,000 GPS locations gathered from the moose collared last year. The study began last year<\/a> and has been funded through 2028.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will be exciting to see what additional information we can gather now that we have 56 collared moose on the landscape,\u201d said Kyle Seppanen, wildlife coordinator for the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community.<\/p>\n Necropsies showed the young bull had no underlying disease. The cow, however, had significant lung and liver disease that likely complicated sedation and led to her death.<\/p>\n After the deaths, researchers changed their protocols to shorten how long each moose remains under anesthesia.<\/p>\n Related: <\/b>Michigan\u2019s mysterious moose decline has researchers looking for answers<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Officials estimate the core moose herd at about 300 animals, based on the DNR\u2019s 2025 aerial survey of the species\u2019 range in Marquette, Baraga and Iron counties. The estimate represents a roughly 30% decline from the 426 moose counted in the survey two years prior.<\/p>\n Researchers want to determine whether the moose herd is declining, migrating away from historically surveyed areas, or a combination of both.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere are the moose going? What habitats are they using and when?\u201d Seppanen said. \u201cI am looking forward to confirming births this spring and tracking calf survival throughout the remainder of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n Related: <\/b>Wolf-Moose Foundation: Saving Michigan\u2019s 68-year ecological research project<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Known predators of moose in the Upper Peninsula include gray wolves and black bears, which primarily prey on calves and weakened adults.<\/p>\n Vehicle collisions also pose a significant risk. At least 60 moose have been killed by vehicles<\/a> in Michigan over the past four years, officials said.<\/p>\n There\u2019s yet another environmental factor.<\/p>\n Moose are also vulnerable to winter ticks<\/a>. Field crews have documented individual animals carrying tens of thousands of ticks in a single season. The resulting blood loss, skin irritation and hair loss can be fatal, especially during freezing winter conditions.<\/p>\n Read the original article on mlive.com<\/a>. Add mlive.com<\/a> as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MARQUETTE, Mich. \u2013 Two moose died during a wildlife research effort in Michigan\u2019s Upper Peninsula last month, though…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":638945,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[272099,110729,214,272098,159,272101,67,132,68,837,117278,272100],"class_list":{"0":"post-638944","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-collaring","9":"tag-marquette-county","10":"tag-michigan","11":"tag-michigans-upper-peninsula","12":"tag-science","13":"tag-tyler-petroelje","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-us","17":"tag-wildlife","18":"tag-wildlife-research","19":"tag-wildlife-research-effort"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116188659536800999","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=638944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638944\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/638945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=638944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=638944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=638944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"File](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/6225e1f880e4517530a9d9b56f5243f3.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"Field](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/946289578ce03d483118223c7ddfc568.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n