WINTER PARK — Colorado’s rising moose population is adding new hazards on ski slopes: 800-pound behemoths taking advantage of packed snow to migrate — as seen at Winter Park resort, where a wounded bull has taken shelter just off a trail.
Ski patrollers dubbed him Bullwinkle.
Patrollers at Winter Park and at Steamboat this winter installed signs urging skiers and snowboarders to avoid contact with moose.
“May Charge,” “Seek Escape Route” and “Moose Don’t Shoo!” the Steamboat sign warns. Last winter, a patroller who tried to wrangle a moose off a halfpipe provoked a charge. Steamboat staffers now advise skiers to stop and wait if moose take to a trail.
The moose-skier dynamics dramatize a statewide challenge of peaceful coexistence with wildlife as Colorado’s moose population, which began with 24 transplants near Walden in 1978, expands to nearly 2,500. The growing human population means more people show up in meadows where moose bed and forage.
“During winter, moose are often seen on trails, as it is easier to travel on packed snow compared to walking in deep snow,” Colorado Parks and Wildlife district manager Jeromy Huntington said after inspecting the moose at Winter Park.
“We certainly prefer that the moose remains far away from winter recreationists, but that is often up to the moose,” Huntington said.
Colorado wildlife managers over the past two decades have continued to transplant moose, up to 90 at a time, building enthusiasm around hunting. More than 25,000 hunters in 2015 competed for 315 licenses to kill moose.
As they multiply, moose are moving, mostly west-to-east across the Continental Divide, shambling down from foothills west of Boulder, Colorado Springs and Fort Collins.
This is happening as moose in Minnesota and other northern strongholds disappear because of rising temperatures, ticks, disease and ravaging by wolves.
Moose typically forage alone, eating up to 70 pounds a day of willow branches, oak brush and grass. Wolves and grizzlies are their natural predators, and neither is established in Colorado.
So moose here have been able to browse unchecked, except when people and pets intrude. That’s been a problem. People bore the brunt in at least seven clashes reported since 2012, mostly involving dogs.
Moose equate dogs with wolves, and state wildlife managers point to warning signs — moose pulling their ears back, licking their snouts, rolling their eyes — just before they charge.
In February 2015, a moose south of Steamboat Springs trampled a woman walking with a dog. She suffered skull fractures and was airlifted to a hospital in Denver.
Moose spotted this year on ski slopes were migrating to reach meadows offering optimal bedding and foraging, Steamboat spokeswoman Loryn Kasten said.
“We’re encouraging people not to take selfies with them. And we’re actively encouraging our guests not to ski past a moose but to stop and wait until they move on,” Kasten said. “You never know how a moose is going to react. It is not a matter of moose being fast. Moose are big. They can be mean. They’re very much a wild animal.
“They’re just trying to survive, as we are.”
At Winter Park around Feb. 25, a bull moose wandered from adjacent wilderness and lay beneath pines within 20 feet of a packed trail.
The moose has an injured right front leg and limps. Ski patrollers found it, notified state wildlife managers and have been checking on the moose each morning, company spokesman Steve Hurlbert said. The moose does not appear to be losing weight.
Moose have been seen in the area before.
In accordance with Colorado Parks and Wildlife recommendations, Winter Park patrollers are in the area to encourage skiers and snowboarders to move along.
“Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff is hopeful that the moose will be able to recover and that the moose will not need to be euthanized,” Huntington said. “The moose has a significant limp but it can still walk.
“If this moose does react instinctively to defend itself and injures a person, we will euthanize the moose to protect human health and safety. We strongly prefer to avoid that possibility.”
Bruce Finley: 303-954-1700, bfinley@denverpost.com or @finleybruce