Moose Lift

Between 1985 and 1986, 61 moose were transferred from Algonquin Park in Ontario, Canada, to Marquette County in Michigan.

They were exchanged for 150 wild turkeys.

Operation "Moose Lift" was a major project of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, an effort to reintroduce moose back to the Upper Peninsula. After years of absence and near-regional extinction, scientists hoped to establish a stable population with a goal of 1000 moose by the year 2000.


Fig. A: Moose were traditionally found in the old-growth hemlock forests of the upper midwest.
Fig. B: Settlers, loggers, and unregulated hunters in the mid-1800's caused moose populations to decrease dramatically.
Fig. C: By the time they were protected in 1889, it was too late. The new forests were too young and sparse for suitable moose habitat. It was ideal, however, for white-tailed deer populations.
Fig. D: Unfortunately for the moose, these deer were also carriers of a parasite called "brain-worm" which continued to reduce the moose numbers.
Fig. E: Finally in the 1970's, the forests in the Upper Peninsula had returned to a healthy, mature state. Deer populations were being regulated through hunting and natural predation. It was time to bring the moose back home.


Scientists boarded helicopters and flew across the Canadian winter landscape in search of wandering moose. Once identified, the moose were shot with a tranquilizer and then quickly bound in harnesses--complete with ear plugs and blindfolds-and flown back the base camp.

Still unconscious, the moose were weighed, measured, and fitted with a radio collar. A truck drove them across the border to the forests of norther Michigan, nearly 24 hours away. Once the back door was open, the disoriented and confused moose were free to enter their new world and home.


The moose, preferring cooler climates and ample wetlands, took well to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Even though their population has yet to reach the intended goal of 1000 (currently around 500), biologists now admit that it was an overambitious goal.


However, scientists also suspect that the lower reproduction rates may be influenced by warmer climates. Being such large, hairy mammals, moose have difficulty regulating heat and can die of heat exhaustion at only 80 degrees F.

So what does the future hold for our moose? Do they migrate further north? Do they become aquatic as the oceans rise (since they are excellent swimmers)? Or perhaps doe they adapt to the human urban landscape?

It is quite uncertain.