Parturition timing and the pre‐ and post‐partum behaviour of female moose assessed using animal‐borne video and movement‐based approaches

Limited information on moose calving behaviour, including parturition timing, cow‐calf interactions, and pre‐ and post‐partum movement patterns hinder our ability to define calving phenology and habitat use. GPS‐collars were deployed on 89 female moose over five years, including eight collars equipped with animal‐borne video and environmental data collection systems (AVEDs), across Northern Quebec regions. We first assessed the accuracy and precision of six movement‐based methods typically used to infer calving dates of moose and other ungulates, by comparing calving dates estimated from GPS‐collar movement patterns to AVED video observations of calves and calving. Comparisons of eighth females during 12 calving seasons identified three of the six movement‐based methods to be both accurate and precise and we used these three movement‐based methods to estimate parturition dates for the larger sample of female moose equipped with GPS collars. Moose parturition dates occurred from 12 May to 23 June, with more than 70% of births occurring between 18 May and 26 May. Classification of videos from AVEDs revealed that females spent more time walking, standing, feeding, and ruminating the day before calving compared to the day after, when they spent more time laying down and licking their calf. Analysis of movement patterns demonstrated that one day before calving, females were located (net square displacement) 2.5 km from their calving site (median; range < 0.1–16.5 km), then remained highly localized for 7 days post‐calving (median 0.2 km; range < 0.1–4.9 km). Parturition dates varied slightly between regions, by on average three days, but did not vary between years or according to latitude, longitude, autumn temperature, forestry disturbance, or hunting disturbance. AVED observations of moose calving validate some, but not all, movement‐based methods employed to estimate parturition dates and aid in defining the timing, behaviour, and movement patterns related to this critical life history phase in moose populations.