Movements of Moose in a Heavily Hunted Area of Ontario

Abstract

Movements of tagged moose (Alces alces) were observed in a heavily hunted area of Ontario over an 8-year period. A principal objective of the study was to discover if moose disperse or wander from remote, virtually unhunted regions and repopulate the heavily hunted areas which lie immediately along hunter access routes. A total of 318 swimming moose was marked, during the summer months, from a helicopter taxiing on the surface of lakes and waterways. A total of 71 observations was subsequently made of marked moose, including 33 records from known-age animals. Male and female moose of all ages are quite sedentary in summer habitat, and some were also sedentary in winter habitat within the study area. Movements between summer and winter range can extend over several miles. No evidence of a directional tendency from unhunted to hunted areas was observed. It is concluded that a sustained yield of the moose population within the heavily hunted area will probably depend more on an increased productivity of the resident survivors, than on dispersal and subsequent recruitment of moose from remote areas. This paper presents data collected from moose which were tagged from a helicopter during 1962-1969 using the method described by Simkin (1963). Nearly all moose were tagged during June and July of these years; recoveries of tagged animals were obtained from hunter kills during the fall and winter months. Records were also made of moose which had been tagged and subsequently observed during the same or sucis paper pres nts data collected from oose which wer tagged from a helicopter ring 1962-196 using the m thod deribed by Simkin (1963). Nearly al moose ere tag ed uring June and July of these ars; recoveries of tagged animals were tained from hunter kills during the fall 1Present address: F.A.O., P.O. Box 37, Chipata, Zambia. esent ad ress: F.A.O., P.O. Box 37, Chipceeding summers, for periods up to 6 years after the initial observations. In Ontario, probably in excess of 80 percent of the range occupied by moose is inacc sible to the great majority of hunters. As a result, hunting this large and heavy mammal is mainly confined to the vicinity of existing roads and accessible waterways. In recent years, light aircraft and snowmobiles have helped to relieve the concentrated hunting in these areas. However, the great majority of hunters still concentrate This content downloaded from 157.55.39.152 on Sat, 26 Nov 2016 04:14:27 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 440 Journal of Wildlife Management, Vol. 34, No. 2, April 1970 their efforts within short distances of roads