Thursday, March 27, 2025

Incredibly, I was just wondering about moose populations the other day (why? Who knows. The old brain just popped the question at me out of the blue).

 



25 comments:

  1. We routinely had a mother moose and calf in our backyard all winter long.
    DaleC in Idaho

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  2. Why do moose stay in northern Wisconsin and do not enter the UP of Michigan?

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    1. There is a small moose population in the U.P. Somewhere in the area of 500 animals. Baraga, Iron, and Marquette counties. I've never seen one, yet, but have come across moose turds in Baraga county.

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    2. There are far more moose in the UP than there are in Wisco. The map is very generous when gauging how many moose are in Wis. While we have a small population in our northern counties they are exceedingly rare.

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  3. The Wisconsin moose don’t go into Minnesota either.

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  4. On a wildlife distribution note there is a Bighorn Sheep repopulation project in Texas and 2 weeks ago I spotted 2 of them in an area where Texas Parks and Wildlife was not aware of their presence. They get around. I reported it to a Game Warden I know.

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  5. Twenty years ago I had a driving job hauling out of the paper mills of western Ontario down into Minnesota. On every trip it was rare to NOT see a moose. Pro tip: they're bigger than you think, so don't hit one.

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    1. Most especially with a car...

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  6. Hard to count how many but offhand estimate in a 5 mile radius out from my property, i regularly see 8 moose, 7cows and a rather large bull, along with half dozen black bears,, which 3 are sows and last few years they been having triplets. The moose moved in about 96, pushed all but a small herd of white tails out, maybe 6 or 8 does, the bucks only show up around rut time.
    Though deer meat is excellent meat, nothing beats moose meat, and around here, no need to buy a moose permit, put your name on the county list for moose killed by vehicle, you have to get there in 15 minutes, (the sherrifs give you extra time when they call you, you tell them your starting, point if you need it). Last year got a 850 lb dressed young bull and a big old cow, my scale stops at 1200, might been 1500lbs, lot of meat, had to run to Sears get a small upright freezer. Almost every part if a moose is like tenderloin, what isn't makes super burger, its the best grilling meat as its got inter-muscular fat cells so the meat roasts up juicy and tender, some is fork tender. I think its because they browse in the hemlock swamps, eating tender water plants in the warm weather. Though the big bull he spends a few days each month around the field stripping leaves from every specie of tree, except white pine. He is very calm, cool about going by in the tractor or walking nearbye, just munches away content as can be. I won first prize for a photo took of him last summer county fair, cause he let me get 10ft away, close as I dared, come out great cause he turned that huge neck and antlers to look straight at the camera. Probably get a call one night, he is always crossing the roads, nothing phases him, and moose look away from your headlights, so you don't see those bright reflections with other critters.

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    1. oh, ps, i am in northern NH, White Mountains area, Sandwich Notch

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    2. Meat quality depends on the time of the year.
      The first year of the official hunt here in Maine, 1980, I bagged a 1005# bull. Hung it for 12 days @40 degrees. You could cut it with a fork. It was shot very early in the rut as they set the hunt a few weeks earlier than it is now. They moved it later because of the meat spoilage issues due to late summer heat.
      6 years later, I bagged what was essentially the same moose. Same age, same shape, but 150# lighter. It was a bit after the peak of the rut and he had run that 150 off looking for something to breed. You couldn't chew the gravy.
      I don't know about NH, but there is virtually no fat on a Maine moose. You have to spray oil on it to get any smoke out of the BBQ. Fry it up in rendered pork fat from fat belly. Serve it medium rare.

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    3. Different eco systems most likely. First moose was on a tag, second year we could hunt over here in NH, after that been getting road kills, all but one was i. spring or summer, i've only dressed and put up my moose meat, haven't hung them, hanging just enough hours for the meat to cool down with ice stuffed inside, so its stiff enough to cut. I work in a small custom meat shop, see all sorts of critters, but like hogs, i believe there is no need to hang moose, but each to their own. I used to hang deer, but found it was much better meat if its cut and froze soon as possible. Like beef it ages frozen cause the enzymes work even down to 0 deg f. Also there is a great trick we use at the shop, take a mix of half cider vinegar and spring water, soon as the critter is dressed and hanging on the hook, spray the vinegar water mix all over inside out, let it dry, few hours, produces a shiny protective layer, and all the bacteria and mold is dead, then we never touch any meat with bare hands we always use nitrile gloves, it provides much better product. Tried curing moose meat, by my tastes only corning a moose roast seems pretty good, dry cure is so so. Another thing with both deer and moose burger, its a personal favorite, get a 10 lb box of restaurant bacon, mix that in at about 10% ratio, the the burger is much more moist, keeps it together while cooking, some water added helps too with the grind.

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  7. We had a moose burst out of the woods at work, Foaming and it took a couple steps and went down. A few seconds later a pack of wolves was on it. They had it stripped in an hour, nothing but tufts of fur, and blood stains left.

    Exile1981

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  8. In parts of Alaska, the roads are cleared for about 100 feet on either side, so you get to see the moose running out to collide with your car. :)

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    1. Yeah, with those tall light color legs, if they have trees behind them, its real difficult to see them at night, they turn their heads away from the light, no eye sparkles like other animals.

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  9. just be aware! us horny guys are out there and expanding our area

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    1. The bulls in full rut aren't particular, if you stay still long enough.

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  10. Lord almighty, some moose cows do they stink something loud. Wew! Usually can smell them about 50 yards down wind. But they sure taste good, like wild boars, they can smell something fierce, but that beautiful meat inside!

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  11. I live in that big red blotch in the middle of Alaska. Don’t see near as many as I did when I moved here 30 years ago. Awful lot more people now.

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  12. Spokane WA, we get them right downtown along the river along with the occasional cougar.

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  13. I lived in Moose Creek, AK. Definitely a large population of Moose there.

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  14. Notice that that large red splotch in Wyoming is well south of Yellowstone... wolves wiped out their population 20 years ago....

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  15. President Trump asked Prime Minister Trudeau and the Canadian government to close the border to narcotraffickers and shutdown the pipeline of Chinese fentanyl. The Canadian govt chose not to and Prime Minister Mark Carney continues the refusal.

    The entire Canadian border enforcement system, agents, support personnel, the entire operation for 5,000-mile border consists of 300 people. Not exactly a strong commitment to border security.

    President Trump asked the Canadian government to remove trade tariffs, remove non-tariff trade barriers, and initiate reciprocal trade. The Canadian govt chose not to.

    President Trump asked the Canadian govt to stop being a pass-through for Chinese goods that violates the USMCA. The Canadian govt chose not to.

    President Trump asked the Canadian govt to open access to U.S. banks and financial services. The Canadian govt said no.

    President Trump asked the Canadian govt to live up to the NATO commitment of 2.5% GDP spending on military defense. The Canadian govt said no, you will defend us free of charge and just accept it.

    Now, members of the Canadian government are saying they want to “inflict the maximum amount of pain on Americans possible.”

    Canada destroyed most of their heavy industry and chases the climate change hoax in all economic policies. Canada is destroying itself, no help from the UK or EU is needed.

    Canada imported Steel and Aluminum from China, then shipped it into the USA, undercutting U.S. industry and trying to weaken U.S. heavy industry to match their own level of dependence. Eventually, President Trump said ENOUGH!

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  16. The U.P. has more moose than the DNR will admit to (shocking to anyone who knows the MIDNR . . . Not)

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