Backyard Moose

I sometimes joke that we don't need to go anywhere to spot wildlife, we only have to look out the window and there it is: deer, bears, eagles, moose, you name it. Still, some wildlife appears more frequently than other, moose being of the more elusive kind.

It's always a treat to encounter a moose, that icon of the north woods - especially if it happens to amble by in your own back yard. I've spotted this female a few times now, always at dusk. This time she gave me just enough time to get my camera.

I always marvel at how hard to spot they are despite their bulk (think horse-sized), and how graciously they move.

Unfortunately we're seeing less and less of them. The moose population has dropped rapidly in this region over the past few decades, from several thousands in the 1980's to a few hundred now. At the same time, the deer population increased dramatically.

Climate change is the main culprit; the milder, shorter winters are great for the deer who now survive in much larger numbers. However, deer transmit a brain parasite (the "deer tick") that is fatal to the moose. Basically, a lot more deer also means a lot more dead moose.

Second, in longer, hotter summers moose tend to eat less, and as a result their odds to survive the winter (on less fat storage) decrease proportionally. On top of that, longer and hotter summers also result in less wetlands for the moose to graze and cool off in, which doesn't help, either.

What it means for Northwest Ontario's moose population is anybody's guess, but it's safe to assume things will get a lot worse for the moose before it gets any better.

As for us, we're just happy to have over 30 acres of beaver ponds for the moose to roam around in. And don't feed those deer...!