# Poached Moose



## Jrdnmoore3 (Sep 1, 2013)

Anyone else hunting up east canyon see the moose someone poached on the bank of mountain dell in plain view of the road they cut his head and left the rest of him there. I think it's the same moose I got a picture of on my way out a few weekends ago was laying in the exact same spot. 
This was him a few weeks ago
View attachment 43018


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## 30-06-hunter (Sep 22, 2013)

All of these moose being killed illegally is really starting to piss me off, I grew up in Maine where moose were a majestic animal to us. The problem is they are so curious and stubborn that they don't usually run when spooked and makes them an easy target. I hope they catch the punks who did this and they lose everything. Does the DWR put out a notice to all of the taxidermists to be on the watch for moose mounts when this happens?


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## scoutm (Jul 29, 2014)

Man that makes me sick...there were a couple good bulls around mountain dell. Hope the take the head of the idiot that did it.


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## hoghunter011583 (Jul 21, 2008)

What a waste !! losers


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## deljoshua (Jul 29, 2013)

I assume this is the same moose that I saw a couple of weeks ago. Good looking young bull. Doesn't look like it went very far. When did it get poached? Not only did they poach it, they had to trespass in a watershed area to do it. Makes me sick that somebody would kill this animal just to cut its head off and then leave the rest to rot. I hope they catch whoever did this and throw the book at them!


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## ridgetop (Sep 13, 2007)

Maybe it got hit by a car and went down there and died.


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## phorisc (Feb 2, 2011)

ridgetop said:


> Maybe it got hit by a car and went down there and died.


and its head happened to go up missing too...


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## Lonetree (Dec 4, 2010)

I've seen the F&G remove antlers, they may remove a whole head depending on the situation. I'm not saying someone did not poach it, but its possible someone else removed the head. 20 years ago I saw a lot of moose die in one small area, during a short period of time, and everyone thought they were being poached. Never a bullet or arrow recovered, not even a hole.


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## alpinebowman (Sep 24, 2007)

The division will go an cut heads off when good critters get hit so it isn't out of the realm of possibilities phorisc. I hope that is the case as I hate to see our already limited moose supply going to a punk poacher


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

alpinebowman said:


> The division will go an cut heads off when good critters get hit so it isn't out of the realm of possibilities phorisc. I hope that is the case as I hate to see our already limited moose supply going to a punk poacher


+1

-DallanC


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## Jrdnmoore3 (Sep 1, 2013)

alpinebowman said:


> The division will go an cut heads off when good critters get hit so it isn't out of the realm of possibilities phorisc. I hope that is the case as I hate to see our already limited moose supply going to a punk poacher


I wish this was the case but when I called it in the division had nothing to do with it and no idea it was there. The officer I talked to was actually very upset I'm assuming it's not the first one this year.



deljoshua said:


> I assume this is the same moose that I saw a couple of weeks ago. Good looking young bull. Doesn't look like it went very far. When did it get poached? Not only did they poach it, they had to trespass in a watershed area to do it. Makes me sick that somebody would kill this animal just to cut its head off and then leave the rest to rot. I hope they catch whoever did this and throw the book at them!


That's the same bull I have the picture of most likely the one that was killed.


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## deljoshua (Jul 29, 2013)

When I saw this bull he stood up and was walking around. He did not apear to be injured in any way. Isn't that resevior a water shed? Would the dwr leave the rest of the animal in the water to rot after cutting the head off?


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## phorisc (Feb 2, 2011)

alpinebowman said:


> The division will go an cut heads off when good critters get hit so it isn't out of the realm of possibilities phorisc. I hope that is the case as I hate to see our already limited moose supply going to a punk poacher


Ahh, didnt know that.


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## alpinebowman (Sep 24, 2007)

Well that is disappointing Jordan, I was hoping against that.


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## silentstalker (Feb 19, 2008)

What a complete waste. Talk to all your friends and coworkers. Somebody has to know something. I hope they catch the criminals that did this.


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## Lonetree (Dec 4, 2010)

That moose looks thin. Hard to see in the pictures though. Everything I watched dropped 10 and 20 years ago, hung out at the waters edge for days, before dropping. A lot of them died at the water line. 

It very well could have been poached, or if it died otherwise someone could have taken the head as well. Not good either way. 

Does anyone have pictures of the carcass?


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## martymcfly73 (Sep 17, 2007)

Huge waste. Jerks.


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## Lonetree (Dec 4, 2010)

Is there any oak brush in the area that looks like this: http://rutalocura.com/images/oak_brush.jpg


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## RandomElk16 (Sep 17, 2013)

Lonetree said:


> Is there any oak brush in the area that looks like this: http://rutalocura.com/images/oak_brush.jpg


Does that make moose heads fall off?


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## martymcfly73 (Sep 17, 2007)

No. He was just curious.


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## Lonetree (Dec 4, 2010)

RandomElk16 said:


> Does that make moose heads fall off?


No, it makes people ask silly questions, and that's what sick and dieing moose do to oak brush. Typically you see "tip over" of moose in the spring, with moose near, and on oak brush that has been fed on like this. But 3 years ago, some moose I was watching on oak brush, and waiting to tip over, did not tip. But several were found dead a mile or so away in late summer.

Its not always oak brush, but that is the pattern in many places.

It is a sort of multifaceted intertwined issue. Heavy rain seems to play a role, usually in the spring. That's my interest right now becasue of the rain we have been seeing. Measuring the twig size that gets "clipped" on the gnarled back oak brush, corresponds to the mean distance between the lower incisors, and the upper dental pad of moose with under bites: http://rutalocura.com/files/Examples_of_Animals_-_Disrupted_Facial_Bone_Development.pdf

The oak brush grows very gnarled after it has been fed on by moose under these conditions, because it is larger(5-6mm+) twigs, that are not clipped clean, it is ripped, and roughly chewed off. Typically moose and deer only feed on the leaves, buds, acorns, and new growth, not the heavy woody stems.

If anyone sees moose on oak brush, that looks like this, especially in the spring, let me know.

It could just be wolves or chupacabras too.


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## scoutm (Jul 29, 2014)

Lonetree said:


> That moose looks thin. Hard to see in the pictures though. Everything I watched dropped 10 and 20 years ago, hung out at the waters edge for days, before dropping. A lot of them died at the water line.
> 
> It very well could have been poached, or if it died otherwise someone could have taken the head as well. Not good either way.
> 
> Does anyone have pictures of the carcass?


We watched that bull the day before the moose opener and he looked healthy to use. At the time he was doing all the things moose do...eating, drinking, evacuating and hanging out with a cow. Doubt very much he just passed.


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## Lonetree (Dec 4, 2010)

scoutm said:


> We watched that bull the day before the moose opener and he looked healthy to use. At the time he was doing all the things moose do...eating, drinking, evacuating and hanging out with a cow. Doubt very much he just passed.


Only saying its a possibility. And yes they do all those things before they tip over too, one of the out of the normal things tends to be hanging out in one locale, many times on water, or an over grazed area leading up to tipping over. I'm just always on the look out for such things. They don't call it "tipping over" for nothing, they literally, will just tip over.

Edit: As for looking healthy, the check list of things to look for, in regard to health, is so long you can look at some animals on the hoof intently for over 30 minutes, and still miss all kinds of things.


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## martymcfly73 (Sep 17, 2007)

He could have been probed by aliens too. Let's not leave that out.


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## Lonetree (Dec 4, 2010)

Only if you count the possibility of wolves and chupacabras too. Or we could narrow it down to known documented possibilities. Or maybe your referring to the removal of the head?


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Lonetree said:


> No, it makes people ask silly questions, and that's what sick and dieing moose do to oak brush. Typically you see "tip over" of moose in the spring, with moose near, and on oak brush that has been fed on like this. But 3 years ago, some moose I was watching on oak brush, and waiting to tip over, did not tip. But several were found dead a mile or so away in late summer.
> 
> Its not always oak brush, but that is the pattern in many places.
> 
> ...


prolly wolves, maybe poachers

Could be brain parasites. That'll make a seemingly healthy animal tip over. I think a moose with carotid parasites will slowly starve to death. I've turned in two dead bull moose in the last 8 years that come to find out died of parasites. One was dead on the bank of the Hamms Fork and another was in a riparian area on the Little Greys. No signs of trauma in either moose.

What does the DNR say? Did they cut the head off for an autopsy? someone makin' head cheese? elknecko sausage? (Uh, that's an inside joke. You'd have to search the Recipe section to understand that one)


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## martymcfly73 (Sep 17, 2007)

wyogoob said:


> prolly wolves, maybe poachers
> 
> Could be brain parasites. That'll make a seemingly healthy animal tip over. I think a moose with carotid parasites will slowly starve to death. I've turned in two dead bull moose in the last 8 years that come to find out died of parasites. One was dead on the bank of the Hamms Fork and another was in a riparian area on the Little Greys. No signs of trauma in either moose.
> 
> What does the DNR say? Did they cut the head off for an autopsy? someone makin' head cheese? elknecko sausage? (Uh, that's an inside joke. You'd have to search the Recipe section to understand that one)


Utah has the same problem. Utah State and SFW are working on a study now. In fact I saw a collared moose Saturday and emailed the study director with a location.


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## Lonetree (Dec 4, 2010)

Goob, Yep, liver flukes, carried by _Fasciola hepatica, http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs002449900255_ And brain worms play a role in moose declines. There is some sort of deficiency thing too.

But yeah, probably the wolves, but maybe coyotes.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

I remember back when the moose started to die off up in Jackson Hole, before the introduction of wolves. Skinny emaciated moose were found dead in alarming numbers. It was clear that the animals had starved to death. The biologists couldn't figure it out. After years of intense study they surmised that moose had a narrow range of willow, forb, and cottonwood species that provided them nurishment and those plants exhibited zero growth during the worst drought in 80 years. Magazine and newspaper articles explained the demise of poor starving animals. I loved every word of it and soon, moose tag in hand, found myself anchored to the few black narrow-leaf willows I could find in my moose hunt area.

Anyway, they say at that point no one had cut a moose head off, disected it and did a proper autopsy. When they finally did they found masses, clumps, of parasites in the neck that pinched off the esophagus, restricting food intake.

The whole episode is funny, embarassing, because Ontario and Minnesota had experienced a moose die-off attributed to parasites 10 years before Jackson Hole's. Uh, well I thought it was funny..................prolly wolves or poachers from Wyoming.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Was the headless moose near the Mountain Dell golf course?

Maybe a guy on a golf cart got attacked by the crazed bull and defending himself with his .380 semi-auto. Nothin' wrong with that.


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## Lonetree (Dec 4, 2010)

wyogoob said:


> I remember back when the moose started to die off up in Jackson Hole, before the introduction of wolves. Skinny emaciated moose were found dead in alarming numbers. It was clear that the animals had starved to death. The biologists couldn't figure it out. After years of intense study they surmised that moose had a narrow range of willow, forb, and cottonwood species that provided them nurishment and those plants exhibited zero growth during the worst drought in 80 years. Magazine and newspaper articles explained the demise of poor starving animals. I loved every word of it and soon, moose tag in hand, found myself anchored to the few black narrow-leaf willows I could find in my moose hunt area.
> 
> Anyway, they say at that point no one had cut a moose head off, disected it and did a proper autopsy. When they finally did they found masses, clumps, of parasites in the neck that pinched off the esophagus, restricting food intake.
> 
> The whole episode is funny, embarassing, because Ontario and Minnesota had experienced a moose die-off attributed to parasites 10 years before Jackson Hole's. Uh, well I thought it was funny..................prolly wolves or poachers from Wyoming.


Yeah the MN die offs started in earnest in '84, like most of the first wave of wildlife die offs across the West. That's where the term "tip over" comes form. MN moose declines took off again in earnest in the early '90s, like all the other die offs in the West, including UT. I'd post up my UT, and MN moose pages, but they are not done yet.

Its almost like there is a pattern to the way in which these wolves have decimated wildlife across the West, and the condition the wildlife has been left in.

I'm going to try this until the 500 lbs of candy I ordered comes in.


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## Lonetree (Dec 4, 2010)

wyogoob said:


> Was the headless moose near the Mountain Dell golf course?
> 
> Maybe a guy on a golf cart got attacked by the crazed bull and defending himself with his .380 semi-auto. Nothin' wrong with that.


Except that he forgot at least one of the S's in SSS. Golf courses could not have any bearing dieing wildlife. :mrgreen:


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

I'm not so sure if someone took the head just to get the tongue. Everyone knows what a pain in the bung hole it is to remove a moose tongue. My guess is that the shooter's caddy in the golf cart just cut the head off and then cut the tongue out at his leisure up at the club house.

Frankly, it's not a guess, I'm just sure it went down that way. I'm goin' over to Monster Muleys now, bye.

.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Lonetree said:


> Yeah the MN die offs started in earnest in '84, like most of the first wave of wildlife die offs across the West. That's where the term "tip over" comes form. MN moose declines took off again in earnest in the early '90s, like all the other die offs in the West, including UT. I'd post up my UT, and MN moose pages, but they are not done yet.
> 
> Its almost like there is a pattern to the way in which these wolves have decimated wildlife across the West, and the condition the wildlife has been left in.
> 
> I'm going to try this until the 500 lbs of candy I ordered comes in.


OK, that makes sense.

.


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## lintfisher (May 12, 2013)

alpinebowman said:


> The division will go an cut heads off when good critters get hit so it isn't out of the realm of possibilities phorisc. I hope that is the case as I hate to see our already limited moose supply going to a punk poacher


If DWR did this, wouldn't they remove the whole carcass rather than leave it to rot a few feet from the watershed reservoir us poor SAPS in the valley have to drink from? 
Unfortunately they're way too approachable...and dangerous. Messed up my track many times up East canyon on the Elk hunt last year, as I'd stumble upon one on my way to sightings of a herd in the distance.-O,-


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