Moose numbers don’t add up

In a Cape Breton Post article on Dec. 8th (“Moose harvest concludes”), it seems that Cape Breton Highlands National Park (CBHNP) officials still call a harvest “humane and respectful’ when using a helicopter in 88 per cent of the kills.

They also don’t acknowledge what most people, and they themselves, appear to know: that black bears, and possibly coyotes, are predators of moose.

Black bears and coyotes both can be found on North Mountain and are capable of killing moose. Yet, we are told repeatedly that there is “no predation.” Perhaps by stating ‘no predation,’ the target of .5 moose per sq. km. in the national park can be justified.

In the Dec. 8th article, it seems that a harsh winter can negatively affect moose numbers because it is stated: “with no predation, except for the highland’s harsh winters ...” Yet in the Post on Nov. 7, the opposite was stated: “... even the winter doesn’t bother them much remember, they are a northern animal and are accustomed to winter conditions.”

According to ATIP research, the moose population has been stated as being 1,800 in the Cape Breton Highland National Park as far back as 2011. In a Hyperabundant Management Plan (HMP), the number used was “– 2,500.” The Dec. 8th article now indicates about 2,000 moose in the national park.

It is almost as if numbers are picked out of the air.

The latest aerial survey information I could find for the CBHNP included the Cape Breton Highlands, and was done in March 2015. In the months it took to share those numbers with DNR, there were discussions within CBHNP about the survey data and comments included:

- “We are having a bit of problems with our new SCF method ... we are getting lower numbers of moose observed overall ...”

- Regarding moose estimates, old school, it was stated: “I played around a little bit.”

- “The more I look in to it, the more troubling the intensive data seem. Almost half the data are problematic ...”

- “I adjusted the numbers in all sections that referred to the aerial survey results. The new numbers are the latest we came up with ...”

How can anyone can have faith in the 2015 survey numbers?

The “preliminary results” of the survey were an “... estimated 4,775 +/- 1,200 for the greater highlands ecosystem and 1,750 +/- 500 for CBHNP.” That variance could be added or subtracted. It seems that CBHNP portrays their numbers by adding, now giving about 2,000 as per the Dec. 8 article, and about 5,000 overall. However, if the variance was subtracted, numbers would be much different.

This situation reminds me of the television advertisement about the apple. People can tell us over and over that it’s a banana, but the fact remains that it is an apple.

We are repeatedly told the harvest is ‘humane and respectful’ but how can it be with helicopters? We are repeatedly told there are no predators, but we know there are black bear and coyotes, and both can kill moose. We are repeatedly given population numbers that make the moose ‘hyperabundant’ but numbers and their origins are far from clear.

When all is said and done, Parks Canada tells us what they would have us believe and they repeat it over and over again, but that doesn’t always make what they tell us a fact.

As a final note: there may be moose sightings near Skyline Trail (see photo in the Cape Breton Post on Jan. 2, 2018) where there is no cull, but they are few and far between on North Mountain. Rose Courage Sydney