Earlier this year, 20 moose of varying ages in the western U.P. – from young calves to big bulls – were fitted with radio collars around their necks as part of this study. Researchers are tracking their real-time movements, seeing how many babies are being born, and in the case of deaths, finding out what killed them. <\/p>\n
Here are a couple highlights from the research team:<\/p>\n
![\"Moose](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/24TDPSJMONGTRCPL673P5PI6ZI.png\"\/)
Here you can see the paths of three moose (a cow and her twin calves) that were collared earlier this year. They traveled in the western U.P. and up into the Keweenaw Peninsula.Map image provided by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources<\/p>\n
Big Travelers <\/p>\n
\u201cGPS data from the collars has given researchers a close look at how moose behave during the summer calving season and the September breeding season,\u201d DNR researchers said in reporting their findings.<\/p>\n
Tracking data showed a cow moose with twin calves moved north this summer, getting all the way up into the forests of the Keweenaw Peninsula. <\/p>\n
The GPS-plotted map above shows the color-coded paths of the three moose, and that they didn\u2019t stay together as summer turned to fall. One of the twins stayed in the Keweenaw area while the mother moose and her other calf walked south, then split up. Researchers say this separation is common for moose families as the calves get older.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re seeing expanded movement patterns that reflect the seasonal shift as moose leave their northern summer range and head south for winter,\u201d the DNR staff said. \u201cWe hope you find this data as interesting as our biologists do as this collaborative study continues.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Moose](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/YEAB363T3NC5DFLKSQMSKKWTIA.JPG\"\/)
Trail\/remote camera photo of a bull moose in the Michigamme Highlands.Michigan Department of Natural R<\/p>\n
Looking for Love<\/p>\n
One of the bull moose that researchers collared in mid-February has given the team a deeper look at how some moose behave during the fall breeding season. <\/p>\n
As the September rut approached, this big guy was seen traveling a long way outside his typical range during his search for some willing female moose friends. <\/p>\n
\u201cDuring this time, bulls move more frequently in search of cows to mate with,\u201d DNR staff said. \u201cUnlike some western populations that form harems, Michigan\u2019s moose are more likely to move from cow to cow, tending individual females rather than guarding a group.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the past, we relied mainly on radio-collar locations, which offered only snapshots of movement. With GPS technology providing continuous data, we can now map breeding home ranges in far greater detail and learn how bulls move across the landscape to find mates.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Moose](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/HZ4XL35FCVBINBQQQTNSPS7L2E.jpg\"\/)
A moose crossing sign is seen at the side of a highway in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Moose-vehicle collisions are on the rise and could be a factor in the state’s stagnant mainland moose population.Michigan DNR<\/p>\n
By the Numbers<\/p>\n
At the end of September, 17 of the 20 collared moose remained as part of the study. <\/p>\n
From the DNR data:<\/p>\n
Collared adult males: 5 of 5 alive.Collared adult females: 9 of 10 alive.Collared calves (yearlings):\u00a03 of 5 alive.Newborn calves (born to collared females): 8 of 11 alive.<\/p>\n
The latest moose population results<\/a> show an estimated dip in the numbers in the core survey area. The aerial surveys are done every two years by the DNR and tribal biologists. This year\u2019s survey estimated around 300 moose, down from 426 in the core survey area in 2023. <\/p>\n \u201cThis change may reflect habitat shifts or moose dispersing outside the traditional survey area \u2013 similar to what researchers are seeing with the GPS collared moose.”<\/p>\n While the GPS tracking study is focusing on the moose in the western half of the U.P., there is a smaller moose population on the eastern side of the Upper Peninsula. There, they roam over Alger, Luce, Schoolcraft and Chippewa counties, the DNR said.<\/p>\n The study is expected to continue through 2028 and involve 60 collared moose.<\/p>\n Numbers remain stagnant<\/p>\n While the big animals with their paddle-like antlers once roamed across Michigan, by the early 1900s their numbers had grown sparse and were limited to the Upper Peninsula. An attempt to reintroduce them in the 1930s went nowhere, according to the DNR. It took the famous \u201cMoose Lift\u201d of the 1980s for any real population to take hold. This involved fitting 59 of these big animals into carrying slings and airlifting them by helicopter, then transporting them by truck from the Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada, to the U.P.\u2018s Marquette County.<\/p>\n The goal was to have a 1,000-strong moose population in that area by 2000. But now the latest numbers show around a third of what DNR researchers thought we\u2019d have by now.<\/p>\n READ MORE ABOUT MICHIGAN\u2019S MOOSE: 60 Michigan moose died in vehicle collisions on U.P. highways in 4 years<\/a><\/p>\n Island Moose<\/p>\n A separate moose population lives on Isle Royale<\/a> in the northern reaches of Lake Superior. There were an estimated 840 moose living on the island archipelago when surveyed last year. They live in a national park wilderness and are not part of this study.<\/p>\n If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MICHIGAMME HIGHLANDS, MI – Michigan\u2019s moose are on the move – and some of these huge animals are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":220082,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[5710,79,201],"class_list":{"0":"post-258482","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-moose","9":"tag-science","10":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/220082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}