Starvation

Starvation is the leading cause of natural death among moose. The problem usually occurs in areas where predators have been killed off by people who think they are helping the moose herd. To make matters worse hunting seasons have often closed in the same areas. At first everything seems fine. With no predators of any kind to control the size of the herd, the number of moose increases. However the herd keeps increasing in size. Before long the food supply starts to get destroyed. If there is a severe winter ahead huge numbers of moose will starve. This has already happened in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. In both places starvation killed most of the moose after hunting seasons were closed. Parasites of all kinds affect moose. Most parasites do not bother a healthy moose. But many can be fatal if a moose is weakened by a lack of food.