PROVINCIAL POPULATION AND HARVEST ESTIMATES OF MOOSE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

• Main Author: Gerald W. Kuzyk
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lakehead University 2016-01-01
• Series: Alces : A Journal Devoted to the Biology and Management of Moose
• Subjects: alces alces; british columbia; harvest; moose; population
• Online Access: https://alcesjournal.org/index.php/alces/article/view/155/199

Provincial population and harvest estimates of moose in British Columbia, Canada were assessed over a 28-year period from 1987 to 2014. The population generally remained stable, whereas the licensed hunter harvest declined gradually by about half despite constant hunter effort. The annual population estimate ranged from a low of 157,000 moose in 1994 to a high of 190,000 in 2011, with an overall mean of 172,000 ± 9900 (SD). In 2014, the relative status of hunted populations within 7 wildlife administrative units was 1 increasing, 3 stable, and 3 in decline. The mean annual licensed harvest was 10,038 ± 2137 (SD) moose, and the mean harvest rate was 6 ± 1.3% (SD). In December 2013, British Columbia initiated a 5-year (2013–2018) research project to identify factors contributing to the decline of the moose population and licensed harvest.