NORTHERN MICHIGAN -- A cash reward is available for anyone with information that leads to an arrest and conviction of the person responsible for poaching a moose in the Upper Peninsula in late November.

The moose carcass was found Saturday Dec. 13 in Baraga County, the Department of Natural Resources reported.

Based on evidence located on site, DNR officers believe the animal died in late November along Heart Lake Road near Petticoat Lake Road in the Three Lakes area, a few miles west of Marquette.

Officers have been involved in an ongoing investigation of road hunting in the area and say logging is ongoing along the road.

Michigan has no moose hunting season and moose are fully protected by state law. Penalties for killing a moose include a possible 90 days in jail and a fine as much as $1,000.

Anyone with information on the Baraga County poaching is asked to contact the DNR's poaching hotline at 800-292-7800 or the Marquette Service Center at 906-228-6561. The exact amount of the cash reward is not clear.

As of January 2011, about 433 moose were living in the western Upper Peninsula, according to the DNR.

Several moose were transported by helicopter from Ontario in the mid-1980s to help reestablish the Upper Peninsula moose population. Video footage of the transport was released by the DNR.

A Marquette County woman, Shawna, recently recorded video of moose twins eating vegetables from a friend's cabin window. A mother moose and two calves appeared on her trail camera in the spring. Shawna asked to be identified only by first name to protect the animals living near the cabin.