The population has dropped 35 percent over the past year and 52
percent from 2010 to an estimated 2,760 moose left in
northeastern Minnesota, according to the annual aerial survey
conducted by the Department of Natural Resources in January.
That's down from an estimated 4,230 moose last winter.
Minnesota's moose numbers were estimated as high as 8,840 in
2006. "So it's just a plummeting population here," DNR
Commissioner Tom Landwehr told reporters. While moose might not
die out completely in Minnesota, the population could be too
small well before 2020 to accurately estimate, said Steve
Merchant, the DNR's wildlife populations and regulations
manager. He noted the big drop in just the past year. "That's a
steep slope, and it comes down to that—very few animals left,
very shortly," Merchant said. Researchers are conducting studies
to better understand why moose are dying out in Minnesota.
Scientists suspect some combination of higher temperatures,
parasites, diseases, contact with deer and changes in forests