Results

Across our three-year study period, we obtained data from 39 female moose producing a total of 77 calves. The survival rates of calves from birth to dispersal were 42% for the 2019/20 season, 58% for the 2020/21 season, and 52% for the 2021/22 season.

Summer survival

The best model explaining variation in the survival probability of calves during summer included bear density and year (Table 1 in Supplementary Materials), with the probability of survival decreasing with increasing bear density (Fig. 2). Summer calf survival varied significantly between years, with survival being highest in 2019/20 (92%), followed by 2021/22 (69%) and 2020/21 (58%) (Table 1).