Tracks & Tales

There are some things you learn because you go looking for the answer. And then there are things you learn because someone asks a question and you suddenly realize you have absolutely no idea. This was one of those. I was at a wildlife presentation not too long ago when someone asked whether it was legal to collect a moose antler shed. The presenter didn't have an answer. And I realized, neither did I. Which was mildly inconvenient, considering I had already collected a few.

Sometimes the cameras catch the story. Sometimes the story happens just outside the frame. A recent camera check led me into an area with extensive evidence of winter moose activity. What began as a routine stop quickly turned into one of those days where every clue seemed to point toward another question. The sign was everywhere. The moose, however, was nowhere to be found. At least not on camera. The video below follows the trail through a surprisingly concentrated area of

I recently returned from ten days on Isle Royale as part of the Wolf-Moose Project's Moosewatch program. The trip covered roughly 98 miles of hiking through conditions that ranged from snow and cold rain to weather that seemed to remember, at the last minute, that it was supposed to be spring. As always, Isle Royale was remarkable. What made this visit different for me was the absence of something I normally hope to see. For the first time on an Isle Royale trip, I did not se

Wisconsin moose are still (always) on my mind. Moose here tend to appear less as sightings and more as evidence—browse lines in the understory, beds in thawing ground, the quiet signatures of movement through places most people pass without reading. You learn to see them in negative space as much as presence. Tomorrow I head to Isle Royale with the Wolf-Moose Project leading a team as part of their Moosewatch program. Moosewatch is a long-running, volunteer-supported effort c

For years, the presence of moose in northern Wisconsin has occupied an unusual space in state conservation language. They were present. They were documented. But their official designation did not fully reflect that reality. Recently, I received an update from staff within the Wisconsin Natural Heritage Inventory (Natural Heritage Conservation) regarding the State Rank assigned to moose in Wisconsin. After reviewing detailed notes, long-term observations, and data that I shar

If Wisconsin had a “most likely to be underestimated” award, moose would win it while standing quietly in a marsh, pretending not to exist. A Wisconsin bull moose in velvet, May 2019. Moose ( Alces alces ) are the largest members of the deer family anywhere in the world. Adults stand roughly 5 to 7 feet tall at the shoulder and stretch 8 to 10 feet from nose to tail. Bulls can weigh anywhere from 900 to 1,400 pounds, while cows generally range from 700 to 1,100 pounds. That’s

Moose are enormous animals with legs like fence posts and antlers that look wildly impractical for stealth. And yet. They are astonishingly good at not being noticed. Full-sized. Half visible. Moose spend most of their time in places humans avoid: wetlands, bog edges, regenerating forests, and thick cover where visibility is measured in feet, not yards. They move slowly, deliberately, and often at dawn, dusk, or night. When they stop moving, they become forest furniture. Two

Once upon a time, moose didn’t need to hide in Wisconsin. Before European settlement, moose occupied much of the northern half of the state, living in conifer and mixed hardwood forests primarily north of about 44 degrees latitude. For reference, 44° N is not very far north — picture a line running roughly from Green Bay to Marshfield to Eau Claire. Moose were a familiar, if elusive, part of the landscape. By the mid to late 1800s, that changed. Overhunting played a major rol

Moose might be the biggest animals in the forest… but you’d never know it from the way they hide. Wisconsin’s moose have mastered the art of staying off-camera, off-trail, and off-the-record — which is exactly why I’m obsessed with finding them. Most people in Wisconsin have never seen a moose. But they’re out there — slipping between wetlands, forests, and all the quiet places humans don’t usually go. In upcoming posts, I’ll share what we know (and what we think we know) a