News released by the Colorado Division of Wildlife
October 1, 1999

The elk hunter stealthy walks through the dense lodgepole pine forest and spots a large, dark brown animal. Peering through the rifle scope and noticing the animal doesn't flee, the hunter decides to shoot and soon after discovers the animal just killed isn't an elk -- it's a moose.

"Elk hunters in the field need to confirm their targets and use binoculars to identify their animals," said Mike Stone, the Division's hunter education coordinator.

The state's two moose herds are still thriving thanks to excellent habitat conditions. But the Division has been forced to more tightly restrict the number of moose hunting licenses to compensate for the illegal kills. And wildlife managers are also working to dramatically reduce the number of illegal moose kills.

To learn why the illegal kills occur, wildlife managers are turning to hunters to find the answers. A recent Division study, spanning the last 21 years, has uncovered certain patterns with hunters who have accidentally killed a moose.

For the past year, Stone and area wildlife biologist Chuck Wagner in Hot Sulphur Springs have compiled 277 illegally killed moose reports to create an extensive database to find out why hunters are the ones illegally killing the animals.

The Moose Mistaken Identification database shows 95 percent of the hunters were licensed elk hunters who illegally shot a moose. Although the hunters were all ages, 33 was the average age, which means they weren't kids, Stone said.

The majority of the reports comprised animals that other hunters reported finding in the field. Only 20 percent of the records reflected hunters who had turned themselves in for mistakenly shooting a moose.

The report was compiled, Stone said, for biological and educational purposes. The data has helped the Division identify certain patterns with illegal moose kills by using information such as the sex and age of the moose and when possible, the residency of the hunter who accidentally shot the animal.

Since the Division opened up moose hunting to the public in 1985, illegal moose kills have included 40 calves, 90 cows, 53 young bulls and 74 mature bulls.

Case reports for moose killings included questions that were addressed to hunters who turned themselves in. Hunters were asked what type of habitat they were in, how long was the animal observed before pulling the trigger, and what type of optics were used.

Many hunters are under the impression that moose are only found in ponds, lakes and willow stands, Stone said. But according to Jerry Claassen, district wildlife manager in Grand Lake, hunters have illegally killed moose in all types of habitat, even above timberline. Moose are doing so well in the state they can be found almost anywhere.

"There is no pattern of hunters in areas where moose are typically found," Stone said. "Hunters are illegally killing moose in open meadows, lodgepole pine forests and steep hillside areas where elk are found."
In addition, the length of time a hunter is able to watch an animal should provide a clue that it's not an elk. "When an elk sees a hunter in the field, it will usually flee immediately, but not a moose," Stone said.
In 1993, the Division, with Colorado State University, conducted an illegal moose study and discovered that out of 17 interviews, hunters had observed the animal for an average of 3.5 minutes.

"In most cases, the moose just stood there, which can be tempting to a hunter, especially if they think it's an elk," Stone said. "A good rule for hunters to remember, is if the animal doesn't flee, it's probably not an elk."

The Division reintroduced moose into Colorado in 1978 in North Park. Though the animals are pioneering into many new areas of the state, some biologists speculate that nonresident hunters may not even know they're here.

Case records reflect both nonresident and resident hunters have killed moose by mistake. A few of the case reports included moose that were poached, but the vast majority killed were by hunters who had mistaken the identity of a moose for an elk, Stone said.

"Hunters need to be held accountable and absolutely sure of their targets," said Rob Firth, area district wildlife manager in Hot Sulphur Springs in Middle Park where many of the moose were killed last season.
This season, Firth recommends hunters be prepared to come across a moose in the field. "A good big game hunter always has a pair of binoculars to use," he said. "This will ensure the hunter can properly identify the target."

The Division's law enforcement officers recognize that hunters will misidentify animals. "If the shooter reports the incident as soon as possible to the local officer, and the situation is deemed accidental, the Division is willing to take that into consideration," said Dave Croonquist, the Division's assistant chief of law enforcement. The penalties for killing a moose can range from a $68 violation to a $10,000 surcharge fine under the state's "Samson" trophy poaching law.

Each season, the Division's biologists evaluate moose populations statewide to determine harvest objectives and the number of licenses to issue hunters. Because of last year's unfortunate loss of 37 moose in Middle Park and other areas of the state, the Division's biologists decided not to increase licenses in those areas because it was in conflict with the Division's overall management strategy for moose.

"It's a check and balance system," said Steve Porter, a terrestrial biologist for the Division who has worked with moose since they were reintroduced. "We would have increased moose licenses over time, but that process takes longer when we lose those animals illegally."
Hunters need to help in the Division's efforts in managing the state's moose herds, Porter said.

"Although a hunter's chance of drawing a moose license is good, it's not going to increase if there's a certain percentage of moose illegally killed each season," said John Ellenberger, the state's big game manager. "Hunters need to help by harvesting the correct animals so the Division can expand the moose hunting opportunities in the state," he said.
Either-sex elk licenses is part of the reason why so many moose were killed last year, Ellenberger said. There were 45 either-sex units available to hunters, and the majority of those units were in northwest and north central Colorado, areas inhabited by moose.

Either-sex elk licenses, not available to hunters this year, provided hunters with the opportunity to take a cow or a bull elk with at least four antler points on one branch.

"Some hunters thought that if they saw a portion of the antler, that it was a legal animal to take, but antlers doesn't mean that it's an elk," Ellenberger said.

This season, through the Division's limited license draw, 87 moose licenses for 10 hunting units have been issued. Last year, the Division issued 79 moose licenses for 8 units.

Although the Division has had to restrict moose licenses in areas where moose were illegally taken, in other parts of the state moose are thriving, which has had the opposite effect on license numbers.

Since the reintroduction of moose into Colorado, many have pioneered into new areas. Today, Colorado has more than 1,000 moose. With nearly 500 animals found in North Park, between 120 to 200 in Middle Park, and a new population of moose found near Lake City in southern Colorado, moose are a Division success story.

Because moose are doing so well, the Division opened up two new moose hunting units. "The Wildlife Commission approved units 66 and 76 for moose because the habitat in those areas has reached the carrying capacity for the animals," Ellenberger said.

In the winter of 1991 and 1992, a total of 91 moose were transplanted from North Park and northeast Colorado herds to the area southeast of Lake City, near units 66 and 76. Today, nearly 300 moose inhabit the upper Rio Grande and along the headwaters of the Lake Fork of the Gunnison. Additional animals have also been found scattered along both sides of the Continental Divide in southwest Colorado.

Dave Kenvin, the Division's terrestrial area biologist in Monte Vista, said this year there were six licenses issued for units 76, and two for unit 66. "The moose population is doing well and the animals have been well received by the people in this area," he said. Moose are taking advantage of abundant stands of willow throughout the upper Rio Grande and Lake Fork drainages and elsewhere in the region, Kenvin added.