Researchers share update on moose, brainworm study

As first reported in September 2017 here on WTIP, a University of Minnesota professor set up a crowdfunding site to help research the parasite that’s devastating Minnesota’s moose population.

Dr. Tiffany Wolf from the University of Minnesota set up the crowdfunding site to see if the public had interest in supporting her efforts to study the decline of the state's moose population. The parasite Wolf wanted more information on is called brainworm, and it typically breeds inside the brains of white-tailed deer. When the parasite passes to moose, Wolf said, it can be deadly.

In the span of just a few months, Wolf raised more than $7,000 to assist with her study. The research will focus on snails and slugs in northeastern Minnesota and how they might spread brainworm in moose.

Wolf was back in northeastern Minnesota this spring to continue her research on moose.

WTIP’s Joe Friedrichs spoke with Wolf and Dr. Seth Moore, the director of biology and environment for the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, about the ongoing efforts to learn more about brainworm transmission in Minnesota’s moose.