How hunting moose could save the moose population

How hunting moose could save the moose population

　　Transcript¹

　　Warmer New England winters mean moose face a bigger threat from winter ticks. Some states are trying a strategy of hunting more moose to try to save them. (Story first aired on ATC on March 17, 2022.)

　　STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

　　In Northern New England, shorter winters with less snow are creating a problem for moose. Native winter ticks are thriving on moose. Some states have been trying to help the moose by hunting them. Vermont Public Radio's Abagael Giles explains.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

　　ABAGAEL GILES: It's a glorious day in a remote part of the rugged² Northeast Kingdom, sunny and cold. Nick Fortin is Vermont Fish and Wildlife's lead moose biologist. He says the new growth from logging at this spot makes for prime moose habitat.

　　NICK FORTIN: Sort of a high-elevation³ basin between two mountains. And it's mostly dominated by spruce and fir.

　　GILES: After a long snowmobile ride, Fortin and his colleagues are here to set up game cameras.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF METAL CLINKING)

　　GILES: The idea - to build a population model that will help biologists track the health of New England's moose population in real time because in recent decades, the relationship between moose and one of their parasites⁴, winter tick, has changed.

　　FORTIN: This year's a perfect example. We're out here in the end of February, and there's maybe a foot of snow. And we're at 2,500 feet of elevation. I mean, we should have 4 to 5 feet of snow on the ground right now.

　　GILES: The problem is swarms⁵ of winter ticks seek out a host just before first snow.

　　FORTIN: We'll often call them tick bombs.

　　GILES: When snow comes late, they have more time to find a host. And unlike white-tailed deer, moose are poor groomers. So a single animal can carry as many as 90,000 ticks through the winter. Then in the spring, the ticks drop off to reproduce. So the more moose in an area, the more ticks. Since moose like to eat the yummy new growth in areas like this, it means denser-than-normal moose populations.

　　FORTIN: And, yeah, we got used to that. But that's not something that is probably sustainable in the face of winter ticks and climate change.

　　GILES: Right now only about half of moose calves⁷ survive their first winter in this basin. Biologists say reducing the density⁸ of moose here by about half would help.

　　FORTIN: And that's a tough sell to a lot of people.

　　GILES: People like Brenna Galdenzi with the advocacy group Protect Our Wildlife Vermont.

　　BRENNA GALDENZI: Is there any way to prove to Vermonters, you know, in three years or four years or five years that, you know, the deer or the moose herd⁹ is now healthier and that's due to the moose hunt?

　　GILES: Cheryl Frank Sullivan is an entomologist at the University of Vermont. She's been looking into another option - kill the ticks using pesticides¹⁰ made of fungi¹¹ found naturally in New England soils. Spoiler - more research is needed. But in the meantime, Frank Sullivan says reducing the density of moose hosts on the landscape - moose social distancing, if you will - may just be the best option available.

　　CHERYL FRANK SULLIVAN: It's - weather conditions, host density and the overlap¹² of that seasonal¹³ habitat use by moose are really the main factors that drive the winter tick abundance on the landscape.

　　GILES: After several years with very little or no hunting, Vermont issued 100 moose permits last year. Fish and Wildlife is recommending the same this year just for Essex County, where the moose are most dense⁶. One state away, Maine is in the second year of a similar experiment. Lee Kantar, Maine's moose biologist, says he knows killing¹⁴ moose to save them is counterintuitive. But the state now sees about two weeks less winter than it did a century ago, and those two weeks are the difference between life and death for calves.

　　LEE KANTAR: All we're living with is the winter tick-moose-climate dynamic, and this is our way of trying to do something now and not ponder it for another five years.

　　GILES: Kantar and his colleagues in Vermont hope they can give moose a chance to adapt to whatever a changing climate holds.

　　For NPR News, I'm Abagael Giles in East Haven¹⁵, Vt.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

3 elevation   

n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高

参考例句：

• The house is at an elevation of 2,000 metres.那幢房子位于海拔两千米的高处。
• His elevation to the position of General Manager was announced yesterday.昨天宣布他晋升总经理职位。

4 parasites   

寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )； 靠他人为生的人； 诸虫

参考例句：

• These symptoms may be referable to virus infection rather than parasites. 这些症状也许是由病毒感染引起的，而与寄生虫无关。
• Kangaroos harbor a vast range of parasites. 袋鼠身上有各种各样的寄生虫。

5 swarms   

蜂群，一大群( swarm的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They came to town in swarms. 他们蜂拥来到城里。
• On June the first there were swarms of children playing in the park. 6月1日那一天，这个公园里有一群群的孩子玩耍。

6 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

7 calves   

n.(calf的复数)笨拙的男子，腓；腿肚子( calf的名词复数 )；牛犊；腓；小腿肚v.生小牛( calve的第三人称单数 )；（冰川）崩解；生（小牛等），产（犊）；使（冰川）崩解

参考例句：

• a cow suckling her calves 给小牛吃奶的母牛
• The calves are grazed intensively during their first season. 小牛在生长的第一季里集中喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 density   

n.密集，密度，浓度

参考例句：

• The population density of that country is 685 per square mile.那个国家的人口密度为每平方英里685人。
• The region has a very high population density.该地区的人口密度很高。

9 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

10 pesticides   

n.杀虫剂( pesticide的名词复数 )；除害药物

参考例句：

• vegetables grown without the use of pesticides 未用杀虫剂种植的蔬菜
• There is a lot of concern over the amount of herbicides and pesticides used in farming. 人们对农业上灭草剂和杀虫剂的用量非常担忧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 fungi   

n.真菌，霉菌

参考例句：

• Students practice to apply the study of genetics to multicellular plants and fungi.学生们练习把基因学应用到多细胞植物和真菌中。
• The lawn was covered with fungi.草地上到处都是蘑菇。

12 overlap   

v.重叠，与…交叠；n.重叠

参考例句：

• The overlap between the jacket and the trousers is not good.夹克和裤子重叠的部分不好看。
• Tiles overlap each other.屋瓦相互叠盖。

13 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

14 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

15 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。