The moose population in New York State can’t seem to outgrow the 600-800 range, and wildlife researchers probably didn’t suspect deer. But a new research study suggests otherwise. In a way, the Adirondacks’ deer are “killing” the Adirondacks’ moose—not by hunting them, of course, but by spreading a deadly parasite that moose can’t seem to handle.
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According to the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, deer often host multiple parasites that, though not typically harmful to them, can kill a moose. Cornell lists the parasites as Parelaphostrongylus tenuis, a brain or meningeal worm that creates neurological damage in moose, and Fascioloides magna, a flatworm that causes severe liver damage in moose.
“We might think of moose as being the stronger competitor compared to deer,” said Cornell’s Jennifer Grauer, Ph.D. ’24, a postdoctoral associate and the study’s corresponding author. “But this research really flips that idea. We saw that deer are actually winning in this competitive interaction, not by fighting or outcompeting them for resources, but by spreading these parasites that moose are not as good at handling.”
Read the full research study about how deer are “killing” moose in New York here.
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