Data from: Female moose pregnancy and survival in Colorado

Wildlife management agencies are obliged to provide evidence-based
management recommendations to stakeholders. However, the allocation of
resources is rarely uniform among species. The consideration of
life-history characteristics of moose offers wildlife managers a more
robust understanding of population ecology, while also providing insight
into potential limiting factors for long-term management. We measured the
survival of adult female moose, nutritional condition and pregnancy status
of adult female moose, and winter calf-at-heel ratios as a means to
document productivity and life-history characteristics of moose in
Colorado. We measured these parameters from three distinct
geographical regions in Colorado, from 2014-2020. There was very little
geographical or annual variation in survival rates, although variation in
monthly survival rates was observed. The primary source of mortality of
moose was in fall during hunting seasons, whereas natural mortality events
typically occurred between January and May. Pregnancy status of moose was
best modeled using body condition score, year, and presence of a
6-month-old calf from the previous breeding season. A positive
relationship between the percent ingesta-free body fat and moose pregnancy
probability was evident.