Newfou dla d
i t oduced
moose
fo
food
i
the
egio
mo e
tha
a
ce tu y
ago.
Today,
about
110,000
of
thei
populatio
a e
eshapi g
the
isla d’s
fo ests,
e adicati g
them
slowly.
I itially,
the
a imals
had
bee
b ought
i
as
a
depe dable
sou ce
of
meat,
but
the
expa sio
of
the
he d
has
u leashed
somewhat
of
a
ecological
jugge aut
o
the
isla d.Moose
we e
fi st
i t oduced
to
Newfou dla d
i
1878
a d
fou
mo e
we e
eleased
i
1904
si ce
officials
wa ted
a
ew
game
a imal
a d
depe dable
sou ce
of
f esh
meat.
By
the
1950s,
the
he d
may
have
eached
about
200,000
a imals.
Today,
p ovi cial
estimates
put
the
populatio
close
to
110,000.
Howeve ,
the
a imals’
ext ao di a y
success
also
exposed
a
ha d
ecological
limit,
because
fo ests
ca ot
eplace
you g
t ees
a d
sh ubs
as
quickly
as
a
ove sized
moose
populatio
ca
eat
them.
Why
the
he d
exploded
Moose
a e
ative
to
Lab ado ,
ot
the
isla d
of
Newfou dla d.
O
the
isla d,
they
faced
o
othe
la ge
he bivo e
with
the
same
dieta y
eeds,
while
the
Newfou dla d
wolf,
thei
mai
atu al
p edato ,
was
al eady
close
to
exti ctio
a d
disappea ed
a ou d
1930.
You g
fo ests
added
fuel
to
the
boom.
Natu al
distu ba ces
a d
late
comme cial
loggi g
p oduced
f esh
sta ds
packed
with
leaves,
shoots,
a d
sapli gs,
allowi g
the
a imals
to
sp ead
ac oss
much
of
the
isla d
by
the
mid-20th
ce tu y.But
what
c eates
the
e ti e
p oblem
is
thei
appetite.
P ovi cial
wildlife
i fo matio
says
o e
moose
ca
co sume
about
40
to
50
lb.
of
twigs
a d
sh ubs
pe
day
i
wi te
a d
50
to
60
lb.
of
vegetatio
i
summe .
Applied
to
the
p ovi ce’s
2022
estimate
of
oughly
110,000
a imals,
a
simple
calculatio
usi g
those
official
feedi g
ates
implies
a
b oad
a ual
total
of
about
720,000
to
1
millio
met ic
to s
of
pla t
mate ial.Moose
favou
ma y
of
the
same
you g
t ees
a d
sh ubs
a
distu bed
bo eal
fo est
eeds
to
ebuild
its
ca opy
—
the
leafy
umb ella
that
shades
the
fo est
floo ,
so
epeated
b owsi g
acts
like
a
biological
law mowe ,
stu ti g
su vivi g
t ees
a d
eplaci g
ege e ati g
woodla d
with
g asses
a d
fe s.
The
fi st
populatio
c ash
By
the
e d
of
the
1950s,
widesp ead
ove b owsi g
had
begu
to
catch
up
with
the
he d.
The
p ovi cial
pla
says
habitat
damage,
combi ed
with
localised
ove hu ti g,
may
have
pushed
the
isla d
populatio
below
50,000
by
the
ea ly
1970s.Newfou dla d
espo ded
i
1973
with
a
a ea-based
quota
system
that
emai s
ce t al
to
ma ageme t
today.
The
app oach
educed
ha vest
whe e
moose
we e
sca ce
a d
allowed
mo e
hu ti g
whe e
de se
he ds
we e
holdi g
back
habitat
ecove y.
The
populatio
climbed
agai
fo
oughly
25
yea s,
helped
i
pa t
by
comme cial
fo est y
that
c eated
you g,
b owse- ich
habitat.
By
the
1990s
the
he d
had
agai
exceeded
150,000,
eve
as
officials
aised
hu ti g
quotas
to
p eve t
a othe
u away
peak.F om
the
mid-1990s
to
2012,
moose
umbe s
fell
about
25%.
Because
decli es
also
occu ed
i
a eas
without
hu ti g,
p ovi cial
biologists
co cluded
that
habitat
limits,
athe
tha
ha vest
alo e,
we e
the
mai
d ive .
G os
Mo e:
The
wa i g
G os
Mo e
Natio al
Pa k
shows
what
those
isla dwide
figu es
ca
look
like
o
the
g ou d.
Its
moose
populatio
peaked
above
7,000
a imals
i
1998,
mo e
tha
fou
pe
squa e
kilomet e
of
habitat,
a d
epeated
b owsi g
co t ibuted
to
failed
fo est
ege e atio
a d
the
fo matio
of
ope ,
g ass-domi ated
“moose
meadows.”Pa ks
Ca ada
bega
a
populatio
eductio
p og am
i
2011
a d
ow
ma ages
the
he d
ea
a
ta get
of
2,000
a imals.
The
age cy
epo ts
lowe
b owsi g
ates
a d
st o ge
g owth
of
you g
t ees
a d
sh ubs,
although
some
seve ely
alte ed
sites
still
eed
active
pla ti g
a d
esto atio .
Hu ti g
to
p otect
the
fo est
Now,
hu ti g
i
Newfou dla d
is
ot
just
ec eatio al
o
fo
meat
gathe i g.
With
o
apex
p edato
capable
of
co t olli g
the
isla d
he d,
p ovi cial
ma age s
use
ae ial
su veys,
hu te
epo ts,
jawbo e
data,
a d
local
habitat
co ditio s
to
set
quotas
fo
i dividual
ma ageme t
a eas.
The
pla
sets
lowe
de sity
ta gets
i
easte
egio s
a d
alo g
heavily
t avelled
co ido s,
whe e
vehicle
collisio s
a e
a
co ce ,
a d
highe
ta gets
i
othe
p oductive
fo ests.The
2022
ma ageme t
pla
estimated
about
110,000
moose
a d
said
a
isla dwide
populatio
betwee
96,000
a d
118,000
would
esult
if
all
ma ageme t
a eas
met
thei
de sity
ta gets.
The
p ovi ce’s
2026-27
hu ti g
guide
ow
says
the
ove all
populatio
has
i c eased
i
ece t
yea s
a d
aised
the
isla d
quota
by
1,090
lice ses
to
28,705.That
does
ot
mea
Newfou dla d
is
automatically
headi g
back
to
200,000
moose,
but
it
does
show
why
the
lesso
of
1878
a d
1904
still
matte s,
because
i t oduced
species
ca
eshape
a
isla d
ecosystem
fo
ge e atio s
a d
equi e
co sta t
mo ito i g.
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