The population of moose in Northwestern Minnesota has declined significantly in recent years. The reasons why are the subject of "Minnesota's Moose Mystery." State and federal wildlife managers are conducting a study to see why this might be happening. The study focuses on three areas: the Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge, the Viking Agricultural Area and the Beltrami Island State Forest Area. Moose numbers have declined dramatically in these areas; for example, in Agassiz, from around 200-400 to 70. The main feature of the research itself is the tracking of the moose population. To do this, the moose must first be captured.

Capture begins with a locating moose from a helicopter and immobilizing them with a net gun, which is simply a rope net that literally lands on the moose. Moose are then fitted with radio transmitters and blood samples are drawn to check for pregnancy rates, disease, parasites and nutritional and contaminant information.

You can imagine how time consuming this is—and expensive. A summary of the 152 moose that have been collared to date is given on the Moose Mystery site. But there is much more to the Minnesota's Moose Mystery site than this, and anyone concerned about moose, nature and the environment will find it fascinating.

Our interest was piqued by the Adopt-A-Moose program. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources have limited funds for the research that needs to be done. Radio collars cost about $400 each and helicopter and net gun capture costs about $700 per moose. So at $1000 plus per moose, a creative solution for fund raising was needed. This is where Adopt-A-Moose comes in.

Two cow moose are available for online adoption for modest donations. All collared moose are tracked, of course, but these two moose have their histories online! You can follow their health, pregnancies and whereabouts with bimonthly updates.

In the future there may be other ways to "adopt" a moose so that this important project can secure the funds it needs to succeed. We think that many Mooseworld users would like to participate.

Visit Minnesota's Moose Mystery today and consider adopting a moose. MW