



voti 



Moose in Montana are quite widely scattered 

 throughout the mountainous portions of the state. 

 They lack the gregarious habits of the elk and 

 are therefore seldom found in groups numbering 

 more than three or four individuals. The more im- 

 portant moose ranges are located in the Big Hole- 



crop) Bull moose ieeding- in a lliffh mountain 

 Lake Abundance. 



(Bottom) Meadow at lower elevation. Dead willows indi- 

 cate heavy winter use. 



Wise River area, the headwaters of Rock Creek 

 south of Phillipsburg, portions of the Bitterroot 

 range, the North Fork of the Flathead River drain- 

 age, and the ranges north and west of Yellow- 

 stone Park. 



The moose ranges lying north of Yellowstone 

 Park have been designated as the Hellroaring- 

 Slough Creek Unit. The following is a summary 

 or short digest regarding the findings resulting 

 from wildlife investigations that have been car- 

 ried out within this unit. 



Yellowstone National Park has served as a 

 nucleus for the protection of moose and from there 

 they have spread into the Asbaroka Primitive 

 Area, the Gallatin, Tom Miner Basin, and other 

 adjacent ranges. The Slough Creek, Buffalo and 

 Hellroaring drainages, an area of approximately 

 183,000 acres which lies adjacent to the northern 

 boundary of Yellowstone National Park in the Ab- 

 saroka National Forest, contains a heavy popula- 

 tion of these comparatively rare animals. During 

 the winter of 1941-42 an extensive survey of this 

 and other areas was made, and throughout the 

 summer of 1942 an intensive study was continued 

 in the Slough Creek-Buffalo-Hellroaring Unit alone. 



For years this wilderness tract, with an abun- 

 dance of natural forage and marshy terrain, was 

 highly desired by moose. About 1925 they be- 

 gan to be seen in large numbers, and by 1935 

 they had increased to such an extent that the 

 principal forage plant, the willow, was being par- 

 tially killed in certain of the more heavily used 

 winter range areas. 



Sex Ratio: Female- 



SUMMARY OF MOOSE CENSUS 



Drainage 



Slough Creek 

 Buffalo Forks 

 Hellroaring .... 



Yearling 

 Male 



5 





 4 



Yearling 

 Female Female 



20 5 



13 1 



20 8 



Calves Total Add. Est. 



12 73 54 



8 44 11 



10 77 25 



53 



.Hi 



GRAND 

 TOTAL 



1 27 

 55 

 L02 



90 



Total Males 

 -40.25 per cent. 



-97 Total Female— 67 

 Male: 59.75 per cent: 



284 

 Total Yearlings 23 



Total Young— 30 



Per cent of Young: 15.46 per cent 



[44] 



