Some Estimates of Moose Populations in British Columbia During ...

Table 4.
- 92-
Table 4 shows estimated populations, covering two
periods within the years 1950 to 1970.
The first period,
using Method 1 for calculation, covers the years
1950 - 1957 and provides a mean value for the fall
population of 84,960. The lowest value is 53,607
in the year 1956, and the highest value is 143,101 for
the year 1952.
Normal productivity would be insufficient
to account for the leap from one year's population to
the next in some cases, and the amount of variability
is largely attributable to the inexactitude of the
method of calculation. However, as the estimates can
only refer to the hunted population an increase from
one year to the next may be partially explained by
the expansion of hunting into previously unhunted,
or very lightly hunted, areas -
a process which was
taking place at that time.
During the same period the
ratios of male:female:juvenile show a trend in which
the number of females relatively diminished, while the
cow:calf ratio increased:
from 1.0 : 2.6 : 1.1 to
1.0 : 2.2 : 0.9. This is in keeping with the effects
of the antler less seasons which were instituted during
this period.