BuzzH
Well-known member
According to the brainiac who wrote this: This is where the left just doesn't get it, they want all these animals brought back
I wonder if there are any Colorado hunters who will "blame" the left for this latest blunder????
3 moose set loose to build new herd
By Nancy Lofholm
Denver Post Staff Writer
Post / Glenn Asakawa
A moose walks through deep snow Tuesday after wildlife officials set it loose on Grand Mesa in the initial release toward establishing Colorado’s first new herd in almost 15 years.
Grand Mesa - As the guests of honor impatiently stamped their hoofs and snorted inside metal trailers, hundreds of snow-booted citizens gathered Tuesday to celebrate the latest effort to expand Colorado's moose population.
The moose simply wanted loose.
But after exhibiting patience for years, the humans wanted to relish the moment - the establishment of the state's first new moose herd in almost 15 years, and just the third since the animals were introduced to Colorado in 1979.
They savored the day with speeches and toasted the moment with Moose Drool beer.
"Oh, I'm so excited," said Bruce Bauerle, a biology professor at Mesa State College who, along with Dr. Roger Shenkel, is credited with coming up with the idea nearly 15 years ago of having moose on Grand Mesa.
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Placing moose on the world's largest flattop mountain was a pipe dream until April 2001, when Bauerle and Shenkel approached the Colorado Division of Wildlife with their idea, setting in motion the complicated political and scientific process for establishing a species in a new location.
The huge, gangly-legged creatures had occasionally wandered into Colorado at the southern edge of what is considered North American moose country - extending south from Canada through Montana and Wyoming - but aren't considered native to the state. The first official herd was established a quarter-century ago in the North Park area near Walden. That herd, which began with about 60 transplants, has grown to about 800 animals. A second herd established near Creede in 1992 now numbers about 400.
The Grand Mesa herd is planned to have about 150 animals and should draw moose-watching tourists and moose hunters to the area, officials said.
After more than a decade of wishing and nearly four years of concentrated effort that included hundreds of meetings with public land managers, landowners, wildlife officials, livestock and hunting groups, and just plain moose fans, cheers pierced the chilly air Tuesday as the bull and two cows made their escape.
When the trailer doors finally opened, the trio bolted past the shotgun-toting state Division of Wildlife officers and, with only a few glances back, waded into the deep snow before disappearing into the timber.
Adults high-fived. Kids ran out to look at the animals' tracks. And a voice in the crowd said, "You don't get thrills like that unless you go to Disneyland."
The moose's whereabouts will be monitored with the radio collars they're wearing.
Behind the scenes, wildlife officials lamented three moose killed during capture Monday - an unusually high mortality rate that has baffled state Division of Wildlife big-game experts.
One older cow may have died from the stress of a three- minute chase, senior terrestrial biologist Jeff Madison said. A younger cow died inexplicably after being trapped in a net following a short chase. And a third calf died after it was tranquilized with a dart gun, placed in a sling called a "burrito wrap" and deposited in the trailer.
The deaths created a gloomy mood Monday for the wildlife officials who trapped the moose near Creede.
"We spend our lives trying to protect these animals," Madison said. "It's hard on us. It was like a funeral."
Wildlife officials had planned to capture five to 10 moose for relocation but aborted the remainder of the moose roundup after the three deaths Monday. They plan to capture 20 animals in Utah's Wasatch Mountains next month and add them to the fledgling herd.
Those animals will be quietly released on Grand Mesa with no fanfare, wildlife officials said.
Staff writer Nancy Lofholm can be reached at 970-256-1957 or [email protected].
I wonder if there are any Colorado hunters who will "blame" the left for this latest blunder????
3 moose set loose to build new herd
By Nancy Lofholm
Denver Post Staff Writer
Post / Glenn Asakawa
A moose walks through deep snow Tuesday after wildlife officials set it loose on Grand Mesa in the initial release toward establishing Colorado’s first new herd in almost 15 years.
Grand Mesa - As the guests of honor impatiently stamped their hoofs and snorted inside metal trailers, hundreds of snow-booted citizens gathered Tuesday to celebrate the latest effort to expand Colorado's moose population.
The moose simply wanted loose.
But after exhibiting patience for years, the humans wanted to relish the moment - the establishment of the state's first new moose herd in almost 15 years, and just the third since the animals were introduced to Colorado in 1979.
They savored the day with speeches and toasted the moment with Moose Drool beer.
"Oh, I'm so excited," said Bruce Bauerle, a biology professor at Mesa State College who, along with Dr. Roger Shenkel, is credited with coming up with the idea nearly 15 years ago of having moose on Grand Mesa.
Advertisement
Placing moose on the world's largest flattop mountain was a pipe dream until April 2001, when Bauerle and Shenkel approached the Colorado Division of Wildlife with their idea, setting in motion the complicated political and scientific process for establishing a species in a new location.
The huge, gangly-legged creatures had occasionally wandered into Colorado at the southern edge of what is considered North American moose country - extending south from Canada through Montana and Wyoming - but aren't considered native to the state. The first official herd was established a quarter-century ago in the North Park area near Walden. That herd, which began with about 60 transplants, has grown to about 800 animals. A second herd established near Creede in 1992 now numbers about 400.
The Grand Mesa herd is planned to have about 150 animals and should draw moose-watching tourists and moose hunters to the area, officials said.
After more than a decade of wishing and nearly four years of concentrated effort that included hundreds of meetings with public land managers, landowners, wildlife officials, livestock and hunting groups, and just plain moose fans, cheers pierced the chilly air Tuesday as the bull and two cows made their escape.
When the trailer doors finally opened, the trio bolted past the shotgun-toting state Division of Wildlife officers and, with only a few glances back, waded into the deep snow before disappearing into the timber.
Adults high-fived. Kids ran out to look at the animals' tracks. And a voice in the crowd said, "You don't get thrills like that unless you go to Disneyland."
The moose's whereabouts will be monitored with the radio collars they're wearing.
Behind the scenes, wildlife officials lamented three moose killed during capture Monday - an unusually high mortality rate that has baffled state Division of Wildlife big-game experts.
One older cow may have died from the stress of a three- minute chase, senior terrestrial biologist Jeff Madison said. A younger cow died inexplicably after being trapped in a net following a short chase. And a third calf died after it was tranquilized with a dart gun, placed in a sling called a "burrito wrap" and deposited in the trailer.
The deaths created a gloomy mood Monday for the wildlife officials who trapped the moose near Creede.
"We spend our lives trying to protect these animals," Madison said. "It's hard on us. It was like a funeral."
Wildlife officials had planned to capture five to 10 moose for relocation but aborted the remainder of the moose roundup after the three deaths Monday. They plan to capture 20 animals in Utah's Wasatch Mountains next month and add them to the fledgling herd.
Those animals will be quietly released on Grand Mesa with no fanfare, wildlife officials said.
Staff writer Nancy Lofholm can be reached at 970-256-1957 or [email protected].
