Animal populations change over time, such is a well-known fact. There are many factors contributing to cause a specie’s population to change, some of these natural and some man-made. Animal populations are often monitored over time and their habitats investigated to find the cause of the population change. Over a period of 28 years, from 1987 – 2014, moose population numbers were counted yearly along with the numbers of licensed hunters and hunter harvest estimates.
The graph below shows that the numbers of yearly hunters decreased over time. However, the population report states that moose populations remained relatively constant over time. This shows that the numbers of hunters does not have too large an effect on the moose populations, and to accurately model the change in moose populations, other factors must also be included, such as food availability, weather/climate, diseases, etc.
Reference: Kuzyk, Gerald W. “Provincial Population and Harvest Estimates of Moose in British Columbia.” Alces, vol. 52, 01/01/2016, pp. 1,
