The Moose Sex Project has become a Christmas tradition, just like putting up a tree and decorations, according to the Atlantic spokesperson for the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
Andrew Holland says they are trying to build a wilderness corridor on the Chignecto Isthmus by connecting parcels of land through purchasing and donations which will allow inter breeding of Nova Scotian and New Brunswick moose.
“And the idea is to ensure that animals can move freely within a wilderness corridor as opposed to on the highways or getting lost or getting in people’s yards and being a nuisance,” says Holland.
Holland adds the corridor is vital because the loss of wetlands and important habitat in Southeast New Brunswick and around Amherst in Nova Scotia means more people are finding animals in unusual places when they get lost or crowded out of their previous habitat.
Holland says New Brunswick has a large and generally healthy moose population at around 29,000 animals compared to Nova Scotia where they are endangered and number less than a thousand.
“Because this is about the survival of moose in Nova Scotia,” says Holland. “Latest surveys are maybe 800 moose in different pockets of mainland Nova Scotia so the species there is really thinned out and it’s a major concern.”
Holland says they currently have more than 2,000 acres of land for the wilderness corridor, and their latest projects are expected to add another 240 acres.
