Southern Ontario, where deer-moose hunting pressure is high is an exception, 

 and moose have decHned in this area during the past two years. Across northern 

 Ontario, however, moose are abundant, and still appear to be increasing in some 

 areas. Even with an almost tenfold increase in hunters since 1951, hunter success 

 has remained high. 



RESIDENT MOOSE HUNTERS 1960-63 



Table 5 



1960 



District Kill Sui 



Sioux Lookout 492 



Kenora 572 



Fort Frances 159 



Port Arthur 871 



Geraldton 998 



Kapuskasing 863 



Cochrane 601 



Swastika 470 



Gogama 351 



Chapleau 318 



White River 362 



Sault Ste. Marie 475 



Sudbury 473 



North Bay 426 



Parry Sound 400 



Lindsay 146 



Tweed 52 



Pembroke 95 



TOTAL 8124 



Lack of access remains the most crucial problem in the proper manage- 

 ment of moose in Ontario. Several times the present harvest could be safely 

 taken on an annual basis if all the range was accessible to the hunter. 



Since severe declines in big game herds often occur when the range becomes 

 overstocked, game management workers are using a variety of management 

 techniques to keep informed of any changes in the welfare of Ontario's moose 

 herd. 



It is in the large inaccessible areas that the trouble is likely to arise. 

 Where big game animals are allowed to increase beyond the ability of the range 

 to support them on an adequate "standard of living", declines in abundance 

 inevitably follow. Malnutrition usually results in lower reproductive rates and 

 an increase in susceptibility to diseases, parasites and predators. These factors 

 may all contribute to a decline in big game populations. In nature nothing is as 

 constant as change. This is a disquieting thought, since the moose population 

 is unlikely to maintain itself at its present high level indefinitely. The problem 

 of providing access to remote, heavily populated moose range is a difficult one. 

 For the past two years, searching for moose by aircraft has been permitted 

 in large unhunted areas in western Ontario. As in 1961 and 1962, certain 

 large inaccessible areas were set aside by the Department, permits were issued 

 which allowed searching for moose from aircraft. In all, 233 permits were 

 used and exactly 200 moose were taken in Kenora, Sioux Lookout and Port 

 Arthur Districts. Not only did this reduce hunting pressure over the accessible 

 range, but additional moose were harvested. These animals would not likely 

 have been reached by more conventional means of travel. 



Several pulp and paper companies have co-operated in opening their forest 

 access roads to moose hunters. Fortunately, new highways are under constnic- 



49 



