© Wikimedia Commons
Male moose, Superior National Forest, Minnesota, USA.
Tragic news about moose today — the climate used to be the same for 65 million years, so moose are unprepared to deal with the sudden extra degree on the modern Earth-Perfect-Thermostat.
Jackson, Wyo. - Global warming might cause moose to freeze to death in Yellowstone National Park.
Don't cry. Moose are declining:
The reason for the decline is complicated. Wolves have taken moose, and grizzly bears have been expanding their presence.
But climate could be the biggest challenge. Part of the problem is ticks. A moose with too many of the parasites during the winter can lose its hair and freeze to death.
We all know, before Columbus there was one perfect quota of moose, bear, wolf. The numbers didn't vary from the sacred Gaia Triangle Ratio (whatever it was). There were no cycles. Moose never declined. Then man came, used air conditioners in Florida, caused tick outbreaks in Saskatoon, and da fur fell off doz' mooses. Cold moose!
In general, moose are simply better adapted to colder temperatures. When it's too warm, they spend more time in the shade trying to cool down and less time feeding, Courtemanch said.
You might have thought fur-free moose might like warmer weather. They just can't win eh?
"The warmer winters and warmer summers are incredibly stressful to them," she said. "They're so heat-stressed all the time. It cascades into poor body condition for females, and that impacts their ability to have a calf. They are so stressed they can't put on enough weight every year."
Sounds like da stressed mooses need psychotherapy. If we stopped trying to buy nice weather with solar and wind we could afford a psychotherapist for every mother moose. Stop a windfarm, save a moose!
Comment: From Dutch Birding on the 17th October via Google Translate: