A project trail camera first: a mama moose with twins! We rarely get videos of moose and even fewer videos of moose with calves! Both calves made it to at least mid-July, which means their odds of surviving are looking alright (see below)!

On average, calves in northern Minnesota are born around May 11-12. Recent research on moose calves in Minnesota determined that 34% of calves survive to reach 9 months old. However, 50% of calf mortalities occur by July and most moose calf deaths occur in the first 50 days of life.

This general trend is not necessarily surprising as most ungulate (hooved-animals like deer, caribou, moose) neonates have high mortality rates in the first 1-2 months of life when they are vulnerable to predators and other causes of death.

Anyway, these calves clearly made it past the 50 day mark and are well on their way tot he 100 days mark. The research indicates that by about 100 days, the survival rate of calves general stabilizes. I.e., if calves make it to 100 days, they have pretty good odds of surviving to be an adult.

That means that if this pair survived until September they are likely in the clear for a while so to speak! We will see if we get them on camera this fall!