Home Range and Habitat Use of Adult Female Moose

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
We estimated home range size and habitat use of adult female moose (Alces alces) in Grimsö, southcentral Sweden. Fourteen adult moose (3-8 yr old) were radiomarked and located from February 1982 through November 1985. Seasonal and annual home range sizes and habitat preferences were determined. Seasonal home range size varied. Summer home ranges were almost 2× larger than winter ranges (9.1 vs. 4.9 km2). Summer ranges constituted >70% of the annual home range. Home ranges overlapped a mean of >10% between all seasons. Annual home range averaged 12.6 km2 and contained ≤2 core areas. Core areas represented a mean of 85% of all locations but only 50% of the total area. All annual home ranges overlapped with ≥1 home range of other females. Females preferred clearcuts and young and medium-aged forests. Mature stands and bogs were avoided by female moose.