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Arctic Moose Follow the River Valleys

Female moose standing in vegetation at Potter Marsh, Alaska
Research · Ecology

Along rivers in northern Alaska, moose (Alces alces) find something much of the surrounding tundra lacks: dense shrubs providing good forage. A study of 24 adult females shows how important these habitats are throughout the year. The animals favoured deciduous shrubs and forbs near rivers in both summer and winter, and sought similar vegetation while migrating between seasonal ranges.

Researchers tracked the females by GPS in and around Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from 2022 to 2024. The population was partially migratory: half moved between summer and winter ranges, while the others remained more resident.

Some travelled into Canada

Migration was more common in the east, where eight of twelve females migrated, compared with four of twelve in the west. Eastern migrants followed relatively concentrated routes through mountain river valleys to the Old Crow Flats wetlands in Canada’s Yukon Territory. They returned along the same corridor in autumn. Western routes were more scattered, linking river valleys and the coastal plain.

Individuals did not necessarily do the same thing every year. Of the 21 females tracked for more than one year, two switched between migrating and remaining resident.

Food and easier travel

Despite their different movement patterns, the moose favoured many of the same surroundings. They selected riverside areas with deciduous shrubs and forbs, generally avoiding rugged terrain and evergreen shrub cover. In summer they also avoided areas dominated by grasses and grasslike plants; in winter they additionally selected areas with broadleaf trees.

Tall willow and birch thickets concentrate food, and twigs projecting above the snow remain accessible in winter. During spring migration, the animals particularly avoided deep snow and higher ground. River valleys therefore appear to offer both forage and less demanding travel. During autumn migration, moose used cooler areas.

The researchers suggest that expanding deciduous shrub cover on the tundra could help moose spread farther north. Meanwhile, the journeys to Yukon show that important summer and winter ranges lie on opposite sides of the border. Managing these moose therefore requires treating their Alaskan and Canadian habitats as parts of the same landscape.

Sources and image credit

  1. Sattler, R. L., Crane, M., Cameron, M. D., Berkeland, M. S., & Leacock, W. B. (2026). Pronounced and consistent selection of deciduous shrub habitats near waterways during migration, summer, and winter by moose (Alces alces) in a partially migratory Arctic population. Polar Biology, 49, 109.Primary open-access research article published 15 September 2026; full text checked. GPS data from 24 adult female moose captured in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge were analysed across 2022–2024. Half of the animals showed migration, with more migrants in the eastern than western subgroup. Moose consistently selected deciduous shrubs and forbs near rivers, and eastern migrants used concentrated routes to Old Crow Flats in Yukon Territory.

Image: Female moose (Alces alces) at Potter Marsh, Alaska, USA, photographed 22 August 2017. Photo: Diego Delso. Source: Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0. Representative Alaska image; not an identified animal from the study. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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