CREDIT WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

SKOWHEGAN, Maine – On Saturday, 2,500 permits to hunt moose will be awarded. The number of permits has been increased from last year’s 2,080 permits. 90 percent of the 2500 permits up for grabs are reserved for Maine residents, with the remainder awarded to out of state applicants. In all, 54,000 people applied.

In recent years, moose health has been affected by parasites such as winter ticks, which can keep calves from thriving, and ultimately increase mortality across the population.

But Inland Fisheries and Wildlife moose biologist Lee Kantar says figuring out how many moose to cull is not a straightforward process. Sometimes, counterintuitively, when biologists start seeing lots of ticks and disease in one place, Kantar says it can be an indicator that hunting might be beneficial.

“That basically is telling…