Where’s the best place for moose to give birth? Why, near roads bustling with traffice, of course. Why? Because grizzly bears don’t like traffic. So, as far as a mother moose is concerned, the risk of brining a little moose into the world near whizzing Hummers and RVs is outweighed by the risk of giving birth deeper in the woods, where moose junior is more vulnerable to being eaten by a grizzly.
That’s the news out of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, in any case. Researchers there have been tracking Park moose for 10 years. While non-pregnant female moose stay away from roads, pregnant females have been known to hang out as close to 50 yards to roads and give birth there. Once the calf is born they’ll stick around for a few weeks until the young moose is agile enough to run away from a bear on the prowl.
Grand Teton moose haven’t always been attracted to roads. Researchers think that the ballooning bear population is to blame. The grizzlies there are roaming the woods, the less safe haven there is for expeting moose moms. So they gravitate to the one place where they’re least likely to encounter a grizzly.
This behavior is apparently not universal. Pregnant moose in Denali National Park in don’t give birth near roads and Denali bear don’t stay away from roads, according to observers there.
And in any case, even in Grand Teton moose won’t find roadside refuge for long. Scientists say that eventually bears’ taste for moose fillet will override their fear of roads and cars.
What’s interesting about the whole moose–bear–cars and road thing is that it’s an example of how people can affect predator-prey dynamics in the wild.
Source: National Geographic News
Yeah, I definitely think the bears will start going nears roads when they’ve lived there long enough to get comfortable with people and roads.
Wow, it’s hard to believe there’s places here in the U.S. where bears are more dangerous than cars…
this was a fascinating article. i have reacently noticed alligators gowing in numbers close to the main roads during breeding season. i believe a study was done by the univ in gainsville that posed the idea they were attracted to the rumble of the trucks. mankind certainly effects the environment no matter what we do. interesting. mabey mankind will turn out to be a catylist in evolution that the future will study.