|
|
Fast Facts:
-
Moose can move remarkably fast for their size, galloping up to 35 miles per hour. In water, a moose can swim for miles, at a speed of about 6 miles per hour.
-
An adult moose can eat up to 50 pounds of leaves, twigs, stems, and bark in a day.
-
Many years ago, Indians of the North Country, the native Algonquians, gave moose its name. Moose means "he who eats off trees and shrubs."
|
| Scientific Name:
|
Alces alces
|
|
| Classification:
|
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Subfamily: Odocoileinae
|
|
| Status:
|
|
|
| Range:
|
In North America, moose inhabit well-watered, wooded areas of Canada and Alaska and into the Rocky Mountain states of Idaho, Montana, Utah, and as far south as Colorado. They are also found in parts of North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, New Hampshire, and Maine.
|
|
| Habitat:
|
Marshes, lakes and ponds, and meadows of northern forests in Canada, Alaska, and the northern United States.
|
|
| Diet:
|
Moose are browsers, eating woody plants, especially leaves and stems of willow, aspen, and maple, and such shrubs as hazel, dogwood, and mountain maple
|
|
| Size:
|
Height: 6 ½ feet at the shoulder Weight: 800 to 1,400 pounds.
|
|
| Lifespan:
|
20 + yrs.
|
|
| Location:
|
|
|
|
Conservation:
Long ago, moose were an important source of food for Native Americans. The moose supplied native Indians with everything they needed – from hides for clothing and shelter, to bones and antlers they fashioned into tools. Meat from a single adult moose could feed an Indian family through the entire winter.
Settlers hunted moose until they became scare in many areas. They also cut down the forests that moose inhabited. Eventually, restrictions were placed on moose hunting in many areas, and some forests were allowed to regrow. Today, moose have become numerous enough to allow hunting in some areas and are a symbol of the wild North Country.
Special Features:
- Moose can move remarkably fast for their size, galloping up to 35 miles per hour. In water, a moose can swim for miles, at a speed of about 6 miles per hour.
- Thick hides and warm coats insulate moose against cold temperatures. A difference of as much as 20ºC (68ºF) may be registered between the air temperature and the hide of the moose. A fine undercoat of gray wool, and coarse, scaly guard hairs help to retain heat.
- Predators of moose are bears and wolves. A wolf pack or a bear will kill and eat a moose calf if it is separated from its mother. However, once a moose is full-grown, even a wolf pack cannot always kill it unless the moose is old or weak. When the moose becomes aware of danger, it will either stand and fight or run. A single wolf or a small group of wolves are no match for a healthy moose, which uses all four powerful legs to strike predators.
- Deer carry a disease that is fatal to moose and often kills them. This disease is caused by a tiny parasite, called a brain worm, which lives harmlessly in a deer's brain or spinal cord. If the worm enters a moose's body, it burrows into its central nervous system and causes paralysis, and eventually death.
Social Structure & Behavior:
Moose usually live alone and do not form herds. However, sometimes a group of three or four moose will stay in one spot where food is plentiful. In winter, several moose may come together to form a yard. This is an area of trampled snow in a sheltered spot where there are bushes and trees for feeding.
The strongest social bond is between the mother and the calf. Mothers are very protective of their calves, frequently charging people if they get too close.
A moose's normal gait is a walk, but it will occasionally trot in a stiff-legged manner. Moose seldom gallop unless frightened.
Moose are active throughout the day with activity peaks during dawn and dusk. Their sight is poor but their hearing and sense of smell are excellent.
Sometimes moose wander near highways, especially adventuresome yearlings. They like to lick the salt that is spread on roads throughout the winter.
Breeding and Care of Young:
Fall is mating season for moose, during the months of September and October. A bull will roam about in search of a female moose, or cow. Both bulls and cows make deep calling sounds to each other during the mating season, and cows give off a powerful scent. If a bull finds another bull with a cow, they will challenge each other. Bulls fight with their antlers, crashing into one another, frequently resulting in fatal wounds to one or both participants.
The gestation period for moose is eight months. Moose calves are born in spring and summer, and a cow usually has one or two calves. The calf's fur is reddish-brown and it weighs about 30 pounds (14 kilo-grams) at birth. After about a week, when they have their legs under control, calves will follow the cows out of hiding, and begin to learn how to swim and eat the right plants.
Their bones will grow for seven years, and they grow fastest during the summer months. By autumn, when they stop nursing, a moose calf will weigh about 400 pounds.
Calves stay with their mother until they are about a year old. The following spring, a mother suddenly nips and kicks at its calf, sending it on its way. The cow prefers to give birth again in private. The yearling may rejoin its mother later in the year or it may wander off.
|
