The way this July is going, it may surpass July 2023, which was recorded as the warmest July. Moose are one species looking for cooler days. Climate change is causing concern for their population and harvest dynamics in parts of the United States and Canada. Warmer temperatures and decreasing snowpack favour white-tailed deer, while stressing moose physically and exposing them to diseases spread by the increasing deer population and changes in food sources. Moose in the Midwestern United States have seen their numbers drastically decline in recent decades. In Michigan and Minnesota, moose are considered species of special concern.
However, climate change might provide positive signs north of the moose’s range. Rising temperatures and shorter winters have helped moose move into new stretches of territory in Alaska and Canada. Foraging animals are finding more food in the tundra region. Studies have shown increasing vegetation due to the warming Arctic, in the form of alder, willow, and birch plants. But, as always, when looking at the southern range of moose, there are positives and negatives for species of flora and fauna. The same goes for flora and fauna in their expanding northern range. For example, ptarmigans once had a little bit of shrub life to themselves. Now they will have to contend with 450-kilogram herbivores, as well as predators like red foxes and lynx moving into their territory.
