For generations, moose thrived in northern Minnesota. Since 2006, however, almost two-thirds of Minnesota’s moose population has died off, dropping from more than 8,000 to around 3,000 by 2013. This drop in population is a direct result of increasing temperatures and carbon emissions. The average winter temperature in the Lake Superior area has continually climbed since 1960, and the impacts are clear.
Moose are facing a multifaceted assault due to changing conditions. With rising temperatures, new species have moved into areas historically home to large moose populations. The main species making this journey is the whitetail deer. Deer and moose are not typically known to share spaces in northern Minnesota, but deer are making the trek from farther south in the state, where winters are warmer.
With deer come brain worms, parasites that have developed a symbiotic relationship with deer through evolution. Brain worms are harmless to deer, living their entire lives in a deer’s head, but to moose, brain worms can be a death sentence. Deer excrete worm eggs in their stool, slugs eat the larvae, and moose end up eating the slugs and larvae while grazing. Once ingested, the worms dig tunnels in the moose’s brain, causing neurological damage. In many cases, the moose stops functioning and starves.
Unfortunately for moose, deer are not the only ones coming up north. Wolves in pursuit of the deer follow suit. Baby moose are especially easy targets for wolves, with 70-80% of baby moose not surviving their first two weeks of life. At this mortality rate, moose will not be able to sustain their current population. In addition, winter ticks typically killed off by the snow are now being left to feast on the moose, leaving behind what has become known as “ghost moose.” Ghost moose are moose that have scratched themselves hairless due to discomfort — they often starve to death, as they are too uncomfortable to graze.
So what can we do about it? First, we can support increased investments in alternative energy solutions such as nuclear, solar, and hydropower. Moose are bearing the brunt of increasing temperatures. Efforts to mitigate those rises can do wonders on their ability to bounce back. Solutions that do not hinder innovation and the free market will carry the most weight in solving this issue. Through capitalism, the United States has been able to go above and beyond international climate goals. There is no reason we cannot focus this energy to save our at-risk species.
Another prominent option in saving the moose population is encouraging the hunting of whitetail deer that venture north. As with forests, the thinning of deer populations has always played a key role in strategic conservation. Allowing the moose population to maintain its native lands without invasive deer will cut down on worm- and tick-related deaths.
A solution must be found in which we allow Americans to do what they do best: solving the issues of the day through innovation and the free market. We have listened to extremes on both sides of the environmental discussion that seek red meat rather than solutions for too long. It would be a travesty to allow an iconic American animal to continue to dwindle. While the picture of Teddy Roosevelt riding a moose across a lake is one of our earliest examples of photoshopping, the image is as American as it gets. We can save the Minnesota moose. We just have to be willing to think outside the box.
Judah Waxelbaum is pursuing a master’s in public policy/environmental policy at Arizona State University.
