Hard Truths of Conservation (2022) s01e01 Episode Script

1
(gentle music)
- Moose,
the tallest of all the
deer species in the world.
(tender music)
Uniquely adapted to
life in a habitat
where deep snow is
the norm in winter,
and swamp takes over in summer.
(water burbling)
A large meat bearing animal,
(tender music)
this species is intertwined
within the culture
and tradition of our ancestors.
And its future is dependent
upon the humans of today.
(tense music)
Hunting has become a
controversial practice
in modern times.
My name is Dan Cabela, and
I'm traveling the globe
to explore the true impact
that hunting is having
on our remaining
wild landscapes.
(tribe chanting)
This practice goes as far back
as human history can remember,
but does it have a place
in modern conservation?
(lioness roaring)
(bright music)
(bright music)
Moose are the largest
of all the deer species.
They have a dewlap, or bell,
and palmated antlers
instead of dendritic,
like the branched antlers
of all the other
North American deer.
(bright music)
Moose are also the tallest
of the deer family.
Their long legs enable them
to wade deep into
the water in summer,
and walk through the
deep snow in the winter.
(upbeat music)
Moose were plentiful in New
England during the 1600s.
They were described as
more numerous than deer.
By 1900 moose
populations in Maine
had declined to around 2,000.
This decline was attributed
to unrestricted hunting.
Increasing populations
of white-tailed deer
and deforestation for farming
also contributed
to their decline.
(tender music)
Laws to restrict hunting and
improve habitat conditions
allowed for a gradual
population increase.
In the year 2012,
it was estimated that there
were 76,000 moose in Maine.
(tender music)
Moose can survive in
a variety of habitats.
And in fact, even
where humans reside,
moose often become
completely habituated.
(tender music)
But moose prefer
large open habitats
with sufficient food and cover.
They tend to thrive in
areas with mature vegetation
that serve to provide
shelter and nutrition.
Like many wildlife
species across the globe,
moose are under pressure,
varying from region to region.
In 2006 there were
nearly 9,000 moose
in northeastern Minnesota.
(tender music)
Current numbers
estimate around 3,500.
(gentle music)
I'm headed to
northeast Minnesota
where moose numbers
have been on the decline
in recent years.
And we're gonna dive
into what the reasons are
that the moose
numbers are falling.
(tender music)
Local state and tribal
officials are working together
to study the effects
that climate change,
winter ticks, brain worms
that are transferred
from white-tail,
and predation are having on
the declining population.
(bright music)
I'm joining Seth and his team
to collar several moose.
- Yeah, today we're
gonna go out and capture
hopefully 10, 11 moose.
We wanna get some bulls,
we wanna get some cows,
we wanna get some cow-calf
pairs to try to identify
what's causing mortality
in the moose population.
And then ultimately we'll
try to apply management tools
to try to improve
the moose population.
(tender music)
- Let's get airborne from here
and then you just
follow us in there.
The spotter plane
will direct us.
He's gonna fly a
bit higher today.
So we're gonna try work the
moose into like an open area.
(indistinct radio chatter)
(upbeat rock music)
- If you can just
hold that tight.
So I got enough to
get this plate on.
So I'm just making
sure that we don't,
essentially don't choke her out.
There's not nearly as
much concern as a bull.
The bulls necks swell
quite a bit in the rut.
(bright music)
- Data that is gained is
used to better understand
the reasons for
population decline
and to try to come up
with long term solutions
to reverse the
current projections.
- [Seth] It's the first
time I've laid my hands
on a live moose in my life,
so that was pretty amazing.
(bright upbeat music)
(bright upbeat music)
- [Seth] This cow went
down a lot easier.
It's approximately
five years old.
(moose huffing)
(bright upbeat music)
- Just because she's
working a little harder
than we prefer for breathing.
So what we do is we
give these reversals
and then we do as much as we can
until she's ready to stand up.
It's pretty fast.
(bright upbeat music)
- [Harry] 458.
- [Steve] Thank you.
(bright upbeat music)
(indistinct)
(bright upbeat music)
- Today, we're gonna go out
and capture hopefully
10, 11 moose.
(indistinct radio chatter)
(indistinct)
So this is one of
my tick transfers,
actually there's six ticks in
about a 10 centimeter stretch.
And the hammer in the calf
is even worse, actually.
- [Dan] Winter ticks are
the leading cause of death
for moose less than
one year of age.
It also reduces adult
cow reproduction.
(bright music)
- I'm sorry, sweetie.
So all this hair loss on this
animal is from winter ticks.
What happens is the ticks
just cause intense itching
and the animals will
rub their hair off.
Calves are particularly
susceptible.
And sometimes you'll see calves
that are nearly
completely hairless.
They're called ghost
moose or ghost calves.
But this costs
them energetically,
they're eating a diet
that's really low nutrition,
really low calories.
Then they rub their hair
off, then you get a cold snap
and they're hypothermic.
The natural population
control for winter ticks
are two things.
One of which is wildfire,
the other of which is
deep snow in early spring.
Nowadays with warming
climate, we're seeing less
and less deep snow
in early spring.
So when the pregnant
female ticks drop off,
instead of hitting deep
snow, which kills them,
they hit the ground and
populations explode.
- [Rachel] Nice job.
- And, Dan, can you
just write down, neck
74 centimeters
then up at the top,
it should say transmitter.
Under that it will be 165.
Now I've just got to look
and see we need to
advance anything,
but I think we are
going to be done.
(bright music)
- [Dan] Samples were drawn
from every moose
that we collared.
(upbeat music)
(indistinct)
(upbeat music)
- [Seth] Well, that's good.
That's what it's
supposed to look like.
(bright music)
(tender music)
(bird tweeting)
(tender music)
- Collars communicate
with satellites
to indicate where the
animals spend time.
And this becomes useful data
when determining habitat
use and movement.
That in turn informs the
conservation of the species.
(tender music)
(birds tweeting)
- Yeah, we had a
mortality signal
on one of our collared moose
and so we're going
to investigate.
The mortality
signals that we get,
really help us to identify
what is causing the
moose population decline.
So we look at moralities like
this, this one's a wolf kill.
(tense music)
- So here's where the
animals stopped moving.
It was picked
apart and consumed.
Not a lot left over, they've
gnawed on this one pretty good.
You can see that there
was a struggle here.
We have a bunch of
broken branches,
there's blood up here
on these branches.
There's hair up in here too.
It's indicative that the
moose was moving around
trying to get away.
When the wolves took it down
the moose was
standing and alive.
So this is a predation event
and not a scavenging event.
- What we learn from this is
what proportions of animals
are dying of what causes,
and then as from a
management perspective
we can manage things.
We can manage predators
on the landscape
if predation is a major factor.
We can manage brain worm by
managing deer populations.
To some extent we can
manage winter ticks
by using prescribed burns or
different forestry practices.
So that's why we do this,
and it helps us
shift our management
so that we can try to
improve moose population.
(gentle music)
- [Dan] Seth's, focus on
research of the Eastern moose
of the Grand Portage Band
or Chippewa, is critical.
(tender music)
His work is crucial to
gain and analyzing data
to better understand the
current moose population.
(tender music)
- Climate change is affecting
not only the the
physical environment
that moose are
occupying and living in
through temperature and
changing aquatic habitats
and vegetation,
but climate change is also
allowing other species
on the landscape
to do much better.
So animals like
white-tailed deer,
that ends up being in
competition with moose.
Not because they're
consuming the browse
that moose would be eating,
but because that
they're transmitting
and passing on brain
worm into moose range.
(bright music)
- While brain worm
is fatal to moose,
it has no measurable
impact on its host,
the white-tail deer.
(bright music)
The winter ticks and brain worm,
are both benefiting
from shorter winters.
(bright music)
- Yeah, I work for
the Grand Portage Band
of Lake Superior Chippewa,
and moose are the primary
subsistence species
used by the band and have
been for all of history.
So I focus most of my work
on trying to maintain
subsistence species,
subsistence hunting
into perpetuity,
to help to maintain the culture,
to help to maintain nutrition
for the tribal members.
(bright music)
- Hunting moose has been part
of the Ojibwe
people's existence,
as long as they can remember.
(bright music)
It is an important source
of healthy subsistence food,
and continues a long
cultural tradition.
(tender music)
Their right to hunt is
deeply meaningful to them.
In my opinion, the biggest
role that hunting can play here
is to try and reduce the bare
wolf and white-tail numbers
that are increasing and causing
moose decline in the state.
I also believe it is important
to keep indigenous hunting
traditions in place,
but all the species
in the ecosystem.
(bright music)
Hunting also puts financial
value on the species,
The area we are hunting is
a pristine vast wilderness
with boreal insidious forests.
(bright music)
The time that I get to
spend in pristine habitats
is very special to me.
And to me there with a purpose,
in this case the pursuit
of a moose, is exceptional.
Moose are excellent to eat
and a harvest will provide
up to a year's worth
of pure protein.
(tense music)
It is a difficult but
rewarding task to take a moose.
- You ready?
- Oh yes.
(tense music)
- Really the biggest
thing with moose hunting
isn't the temperature,
it's the wind.
They're such a subtle giant,
you gotta hear that stick snap,
that low grunt, that
little cough, snort.
And there's probably
gonna be about
30 moose around us
as we're walking in.
(lilting music)
- We're getting ready to
hike into the woods here
and they've been seeing a
couple good bulls in this area,
so hopefully we'll
get on to something.
And if not I am sure it'll
be a great morning anyway.
(tense music)
- What's that?
- Bull urine.
- Oh, good.
- Smell it.
- When quotas are carefully set
and your quest is
for an old bull,
this has the least
impact on the population,
given that they are
of least importance
at that time of their lives.
(lilting music)
From a hunter's perspective,
it's the old bulls that also
have the largest antlers.
- Okay guys.
So let's just talk about,
So just try to avoid things
that you know you're
gonna make noise going by.
And ultimate quiet,
if we're calling.
(moose call)
- [Dan] Hunting moose
is an all day affair.
You cover a lot of ground,
do a lot of culling
bull calling,
rack the trees and brush,
as well as do some
tracking and glassing.
(moose call)
(dramatic music)
Much of the hunt you are
tying to lure in an old bull,
by using all of these methods.
(moose calls)
(dramatic music)
(dramatic music)
(moose antler rustling)
(dramatic music)
- I said I could hear him
turn his head in there,
a couple of times.
(dramatic music)
- This particular hunt
was unseasonably warm,
making for very
difficult conditions.
(suspenseful music)
There was still quite a lot
of foliage of vegetation,
so the moose were deep in
the shade of the forest
as they did not need to come out
into the cuts and
valleys for food.
(suspenseful music)
To have a great moose hunt
or any other memorable hunt,
doesn't always necessarily
involve making a harvest.
(suspenseful music)
Success is ultimately found
in what is learned along
the way, and the experience.
(gentle music)
Of course, in every hunt,
one hopes to be successful.
(bright music)
We have hunted
hard for five days,
and haven't managed to
find a worthy old bull.
(gentle music)
(birds chirping)
(bright upbeat music)
Exposure to nature and wildlife
have always had a core
meaning to my existence.
(bright music)
I enjoy the disconnect
from modern society,
and find that in nature
there is greater clarity,
and better understanding.
(intense music)
Hunting is a tool
that helps to keep
large ecosystems intact.
(bright music)
Maine's moose population
is the largest
of all the lower 48 states.
(bright music)
The Maine moose hunt is among
the most coveted in the nation
with an average of
50,000 applications,
for the 2,500 or
so from education.
(bright music)
There is an off take of only
about one and a half percent.
This off take of moose generates
an enormous amount of money
that flows directly
back into conservation.
(bright music)
As a hunter, I believe
that sharing food
is one of the most
significant things
that we do as a community.
(bright music)
This meal was
particularly meaningful
because it was the
result of a bull moose
my mother harvested the
previous year's hunting season.
(bright music)
- There's a perfect
landscape for moose here
but it needs to be preserved
through hunting practices.
It needs to be preserved
through management.
I've been doing this
now for almost 20 years
and made up my life,
it's my passion.
Moose, especially is my passion.
I just, I love the animal.
I love it every day of the year.
And I love to watch 'em and
see how things are changing.
And it's given me an opportunity
to really analyze changes.
We see a population of moose
that was maybe heading in a
direction that was unhealthy
to them becoming more
of a healthy population.
Something that's sustainable.
(bright music)
Moose in the State of Maine
is it's a cherished species.
So the first reaction
is to stop hunting.
Well, it may not always
be the right reaction.
- My time in Maine
has been enlightened.
And I've learned a lot about
what successful management
of this ecosystem takes.
(gentle music)
In North America,
much like Africa,
where conservation is concerned,
there is no one size
fits all solution.
(bright music)
The species faced
with different threats
in different landscapes,
(bright music)
And science is the best hope
to find the answers
for their survival.
(gentle music)