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Thousands of moose have died off in an area that was once prime habitat for these gentle giants. Biologists fear that global warming is responsible for the Minnesota Moose Mystery.

The polar bear has been garnering a lot of attention in recent weeks as wildlife biologists fear the shrinking Arctic ice sheets are endangering the existence of this top predator at the top of the world. But there is another gentle giant that is getting far less attention, and they may be in far worse trouble -- the mighty moose.

Indeed, in one location that has long been “ground zero” for moose populations, northwestern Minnesota, only a few dozen now remain. Wildlife biologists are now predicting that the moose will vanish from northwestern Minnesota in less than 15 years. Just 22 years ago, a moose count in this region yielded 4,000 animals. Today, there are only about 200 moose left, and they'll soon be gone.

GLOBAL WARMING

What's killing the moose is most likely global warming, say research scientists with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Winters have been getting steadily warmer in Minnesota for 41 years, and the trend has accelerated in the past 10 years.

Warmer weather means higher parasite loads which infect moose, making the animal more vulnerable to disease and death. The parasites include brain worms, liver flukes and even ticks. Warmer springs and falls allow ticks to cling to moose longer, sometimes well into winter.

After the moose population peaked in 1984, higher than normal temperatures in the spring and fall have meant that moose needed to expend more energy to stay cool, which also weakened them. These findings are the result of a five-year moose study completed in 1999, and which is finally being published last year. The study is called “The Minnesota Moose Mystery.”

In addition to warm weather and parasites, the Moose Mystery study also revealed some other curious moose stress factors:

* Lower than normal birth rates. The pregnancy rate for northwest Minnesota moose averaged just 48 percent, while moose in Canada average 84 percent.

* Malnourishment. Many moose studied here seem to be starving, although the study showed that availability of food was not a problem.

* Lack of copper. Moose livers showed a low level of copper, which is a key mineral for regulating moose reproduction. The speculation is that acid rain has leached copper from the environment.

MOOSE STORY HERE

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