moose

Moose declining in Forillon National Park

Local Journalism Initiative / The Gaspé Spec / July 9, 2025 / forillon, gaspe, moose, nelson sergerie, Wildlife

Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

GASPÉ – The number of moose in Forillon National Park has decreased by half since 2017, according to the latest aerial survey conducted by park managers in February 2025.

In 2017, the moose population had reached a peak of 34 moose per 10 square kilometres, equivalent to 800 moose, prompting discussions on how to curb the population, which was putting its habitat at risk due to overpopulation.

The 2020 and 2024 inventories concluded that there were 22 moose per 10 square kilometres. The latest inventory showed a rate of 17 moose per 10 square kilometres, representing approximately 400 moose.

“The target for an ecosystem like ours is between 10 and 20 (moose per square kilometre). We are within the target range for a healthy ecosystem. The closer we are to 10, the better. But we are in a situation that is less problematic than we were at the end of the 2010s,” says Mathieu Côté, manager of Parks Canada’s Gaspé management unit.

“It’s difficult to explain this fluctuation. We are seeing a significant decline, but it is not cause for concern. Our long-term concern was that if we had remained at 35 per 10 square kilometres, there would have been significant impacts on the forest ecosystem. At 17, we are continuing to monitor the situation, but we are less concerned,” notes Mr. Côté.

The park has been tracking the moose population since 1970. The population continued to grow until it peaked in 2017, and since then, the situation has been stabilizing. “Over the past six years, we have been monitoring the situation more closely. We are continuing to do so, and we are pretty much back to where we were in 2009,” notes the manager.

It is difficult to explain what might have happened. “It is possibly multifactorial. There are natural variations. When it reaches a peak and becomes very dense, it often declines,” says the manager, who remains cautious.

Given this situation, conservation hunting to control the population is ruled out in the short term. “We don’t need to intervene. We’re going to let nature take its course. We’re going to monitor the situation closely,” he says.

Additional aerial surveys are not planned in the short term. Monitoring will be done using cameras deployed throughout the park.

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Moose ticks are still present in the Gaspé Peninsula

Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

GASPÉ – Despite a lower-than-expected hunter turnout, analyses carried out by the Ministry of Wildlife shows a marked presence of moose ticks during the 2024 moose hunting season.

Wildlife technicians collected samples at the Grande-Vallée, Gaspé and Nouvelle stations in order to have a better picture of the presence of ticks.

The Ministry had expected to see about 100 or so hunters at the region’s registration stations, however only about thirty moose were registered at the stations. Hunters now have the option to record their tagged large game online instead of physically going to a registration station.

“We think we still have a good picture of the degree of (tick) infestation, which was high last fall, both in terms of the percentage of moose and the number of ticks that each of them carried. We expect there to be a lot of ticks on animals this winter,” says biologist Marie-Claude Richer from the Ministry of Wildlife’s Gaspé office.

It’s difficult to compare data from the last decade, particularly because of the pandemic.

“We can go back to 2013. Between 2013 and 2019, we had continuous data. Then, we had some. This year, we’re about at the same level as the highest years, from 2013 to 2016. It’s a year that seems important for the infestation rate,” she explains.

The presence of the tick varies from year to year, depending on weather conditions, since the herd remains relatively stable.

The Ministry is considering a different method for collecting data next fall. “We’re going to try to either go to the stations during the first weekend of hunting or do business with butchers used by hunters. This is an avenue that we will try to develop to see if it would not be easier to go to the butchers. Many hunters register online but still use butchers. We will try to change our way of doing things,” says the biologist.

Long, rainy summers, an early spring and a late fall are factors that increase the survival of female ticks and eggs.

Subsequently, the larvae can attach themselves to moose and cause damage at the end of winter when their physical condition is at its lowest.