Moose

Moose Male (bull) Female (cow) Conservation status Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1] Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Cervidae Subfamily: Capreolinae Genus: Alces Gray, 1821 Species: A. alces Binomial name Alces alces (Linnaeus, 1758) Moose range map

Distribution of North-American subspecies

The moose (North America) or European elk (Europe) (Alces alces) is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a "twig-like" configuration. Moose typically inhabit boreal and mixed deciduous forests of the Northern Hemisphere in temperate to subarctic climates.

Etymology and naming

The animal bearing the scientific name Alces alces is known in Britain as the Eurasian elk, and in North America and New Zealand as the moose.

The British English word elk has cognates in other Indo-European languages, for example elg in Norwegian, Elch in German and łoś in Polish. Confusingly, the word elk is used in North America to refer to a different animal, Cervus canadensis, also known as the wapiti. Except for its much larger size (it is the second largest deer species in the world), C. canadensis is almost identical to the smaller red deer of Central and Western Europe. Presumably early European explorers in North America called it elk because of its size and presumably because, as men coming from the British Isles they would have had no opportunity to see the difference between a member of the genus cervus and an animal fitting the description of alces at home, where the latter was nowhere present in the 17th and 18th century.

Moose is both singular and plural unlike goose, a word of Indo-European origin, for which the plural is geese. The word moose is a borrowing from an Algonquian language, probably Narragansett, and according to early sources likely derived from moosu meaning "he strips off".^[2] The word 'moose' first entered English in 1606 from Captain Thomas Hanham's 'Mus' (compare to Abenaki mus), and in 1616 from Captain John Smith's 'Moos', with possible mutual reinforcement in usage.^[3]

Habitat,range, and distribution

North America

In North America, the moose range includes almost all of Canada, most of Alaska, northern New England and upstate New York, the upper Rocky Mountains, northeastern Minnesota, Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and Isle Royale in Lake Superior. Within this massive range, the most diverse range of subspecies exist, containing habitat for four of the six subspecies. In western portions of the continent, moose populations extend well north into Canada (British Columbia and Alberta) and more isolated groups have been verified as far south as the mountains of Utah and Colorado and as far west as the Blue Mountains of Oregon.^[4][5][6] In 1978, a few breeding pairs were reintroduced in western Colorado, and the state's moose population is now more than 1,000.

In Northeastern North America, the Eastern moose's historical range extended from well into Quebec, the Maritimes, and Eastern Ontario south to include all of New England finally ending in the very northeastern tip of Pennsylvania in the west, cutting off somewhere near the mouth of the Hudson River in the east. Within the eastern U.S. it has up until recently been extirpated for up to a hundred fifty years or more, due to colonial era overhunting and destruction of its habitat. Within the last thirty-five years, however, this has changed, predicated on the regrowth of plentiful food sources, abandonment of farmland, better land management, and natural dispersal from the Canadian Maritimes and Quebec. South of the Canadian border Maine has the lion's share of the population with a current headcount of about 30,000 moose and dispersals from Maine over the years have resulted in healthy populations each in Vermont and New Hampshire, particularly in the mountains and . In turn dispersals from northern New England have resulted in a growing population of roughly 1,000 moose in Massachusetts (where it has been absent since the early 1700s) plus reports of new dispersals to New York, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.^{[7][8][9][10][11][12][13]}

Moose were successfully introduced on Newfoundland in 1904 where they are now the dominant ungulate, and somewhat less successfully on Anticosti Island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Ten moose were introduced in Fiordland, New Zealand, in 1910. At one time this population was thought to have died off, but sightings have been reported, and in fact moose hair samples were found by a New Zealand scientist in 2002.^[14]

Europe

In Europe, moose are currently found in large numbers throughout Norway, Sweden, Finland, Poland, and the Baltic States, with more modest numbers in the southern Czech Republic and Belarus. They are also widespread through Russia on up through the borders with Finland south towards the border with Estonia and stretching far away eastwards to the Yenisei River in Siberia. The European moose was native to most temperate areas that it could physically inhabit on the continent and even Scotland from the end of the last Ice Age as Europe's traditional habitat had a natural mix of temperate boreal and deciduous forest. It was certainly thriving in both Gaul and Magna Germania as it appears in military and hunting accounts of the age. However, as the Roman era faded into medieval times, the beast slowly but surely disappeared: it survived in Alsace and the Netherlands until the 9th century as the marshlands in the latter were drained and the forests were being cleared away for feudal lands in the former. It was gone from Switzerland by 1000 C.E., gone from the western Czech Republic by 1300 C.E., gone from Mecklenburg in Germany by c. 1600, and gone from Hungary and the Caucasus since the 18th and 19th century each. ^[15]

By the early 20th century the very last strongholds of the European moose appeared to be in Scandinavian countries and patchy tracts of Russia. The USSR and Poland managed to restore portions of the range within its borders (such as the 1951 reintroduction into Kampinos National Park and the later 1958 reintroduction in Belarus)but political complications obviously limited its ability to be reintroduced to other portions of its range. Attempts in 1930 and again in 1967 in marshland north of Berlin were unsuccessful. At present in Poland populations are recorded in the Biebrza river valley, Kampino, and in Białowieża National Park. Overall it is recorded as a migrant into other parts of Eastern Europe and has been spotted in Eastern and Southern Germany.^[16] Unsuccessful thus far in recolonizing these areas via natural dispersal from source populations in Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, and Czech Republic,it appears to be having more success migrating south into the Caucasus. It is listed under Appendix III of the Bern Convention.^[17][18]

In 2008, two moose were reintroduced into the Scottish Highlands.^[19] There are plans for dozens more of the animals to be shipped to Scotland by spring 2010.

Population

Russian Federation In 2008, there were 730,000 moose in the Russian Federation.

Finland In 2009, there were a summer population of 115,000 moose in Finland.^[20]

Norway In 2007, there were 120,000 moose in Norway.

Newfoundland In 2007, there were 150,000 moose in Newfoundland.^[21]

Sweden In 2009, there were a summer population of 300,000–400,000 moose in Sweden.

Subspecies

Biology and behavior

Diet

Bull moose, eating a fireweed plant

Bull moose browses beaver pond near Grand Tetons

Full grown bull (A. a. andersoni) from British Columbia with early (May) antlers

All moose are herbivores and are capable of consuming many types of plant or fruit. The average adult moose needs to consume 9770 calories per day to maintain its body weight.^[23] Much of a moose's energy is derived from terrestrial vegetation, mainly consisting of forbs and other non-grasses, and fresh shoots from trees such as willow and birch. These plants are rather low in sodium, and moose generally need to consume a good quantity of aquatic plants. While much lower in energy, these plants provide the moose with its sodium requirements, and as much as half of their diet usually consists of aquatic plantlife.^[24] In winter, moose are often drawn to roadways, to lick salt that is used as a snow and ice melter.^[25] A typical moose, weighing 360 kilograms, can eat up to 32 kg of food per day.^[26]

Moose lack upper front teeth, but have eight sharp incisors on the lower jaw. They also have a tough tongue, lips and gums, which aid in the eating of woody vegetation. Moose have six pairs of molars and, ahead of those, six pairs of premolars, to grind up their food. A moose's diet often depends on its location, but they seem to prefer the new growths from trees such as white birch, trembling aspen and striped maple, among many others. Many aquatic plants include lilies and pondweed.^[27] Moose are excellent swimmers and are known to wade into water to eat aquatic plants and in non polar regions this trait serves a second purpose in cooling down the moose on summer days and ridding itself of black flies. Moose are thus attracted to marshes and river banks during warmer months as both provide suitable vegetation to eat and water to wet themselves in.

Antlers

The male's antlers grow as cylindrical beams projecting on each side of the head at right angles to the midline of the skull, and then fork. The lower prong of this fork may be either simple, or divided into two or three tines, with some flattening.

In the North Siberian elk (A. a. bedfordiae), the posterior division of the main fork divides into three tines, with no distinct flattening. In the common elk (A. a. alces) this branch usually expands into a broad palmation, with one large tine at the base, and a number of smaller snags on the free border. There is, however, a Scandinavian breed of the common elk in which the antlers are simpler, and recall those of the East Siberian animals.

The palmation appears to be more marked in North American moose (A. a. americanus) than in the typical Scandinavian elk.

Young female (A. a. americana) in Algonquin Park in early June

The male will drop its antlers after the mating season and conserve energy for the winter. A new set of antlers will then regrow in the spring. Antlers take three to five months to fully develop, making them one of the fastest growing animal organs. They initially have a layer of skin, called "velvet," which is shed once the antlers become fully grown. Immature bulls may not shed their antlers for the winter, but retain them until the following spring.

If a bull moose is castrated, either by accidental or chemical means, he will quickly shed his current set of antlers and then immediately begin to grow a new set of misshapen and deformed antlers that he will wear the rest of his life without ever shedding again. The distinctive looking appendages (often referred to as "devil's antlers") are the source of several myths and legends among many groups of Inuit as well as several other tribes of indigenous peoples of North America.^[28]

In extremely rare circumstances a cow moose may grow antlers. This is usually attributed to a hormone imbalance.^[29]

Size and weight

Crossing a river

On average, an adult moose stands 1.8–2.1 m (6–7 ft) high at the shoulder.^[30] Males weigh 380–720 kg (850–1580 pounds) and females weigh 270–360 kg (600–800  pounds).^[31] The largest of all is the Alaskan subspecies (A. a. gigas), which can stand over 2.1 m (7 ft) at the shoulder, has a span across the antlers of 1.8 m (6 ft) and averages 634.5 kg (1,396 lbs) in males and 478 kg (1,052 lbs) in females.^[32] Typically, however, the antlers of a mature specimen are between 1.2 m (3.9 ft) and 1.5 m (4.9 ft). The largest confirmed size for this species was a bull shot at the Yukon River in September 1897 weighing 820 kg (1,800 lb) and was 233 cm (92 in) tall at the shoulder.^[33] The Moose of Alaska matches the extinct Irish Elk as the largest deer of all time.^[34] Behind only the bison, the Moose is the second largest land animal in both North America and Europe. The life span of an average moose is about 15–25 years.

Social structure and reproduction

Moose are mostly diurnal. They are generally solitary with the strongest bonds between mother and calf. Two individuals can sometimes be found feeding along the same stream.

Mating occurs in September and October. The males are polygamous and will seek several females to breed with. During this times both sexes will call to each other. Males produce heavy grunting sounds that can be heard from up to 500 meters away, while females produce wail-like sounds.^[35] Males will fight for access to females. They either assess which is larger, with the smaller bull retreating, or they may engage in battles, usually only involving the antlers.

Female moose have an eight-month gestation period, usually bearing one calf, or twins if food is plentiful,^[36] in May or June.^[37] Newborn moose have fur with a reddish hue in contrast to the brown appearance of an adult. The young will stay with the mother until just before the next young are born.

newborn calves in spring  calves stay near their mothers at all times  this nine month old calf is almost ready to leave its mother  this yearling was probably recently chased off by its mother

Natural predators

Iron age saddle from Siberia, depicting a moose being hunted by a Siberian tiger

Moose battling a wolf pack, as illustrated in The Natural History of Quadrupeds by Frederick Shoberl, 1834

A full-grown moose has few enemies, but a pack of wolves can still pose a threat, especially to females with calves.^[38] Siberian Tigers^[39] and Brown Bear^[32][40] are also known to prey on moose, although bears are more likely to take over a wolf kill or to take young moose than to hunt adult moose on their own.^[41] American Black Bears and Cougars can be significant predators of moose calves in May and June.^[42][43] Killer Whales are the moose's only known marine predator as they have been known to prey on them when swimming between islands out of North America's Northwest Coast.

In some areas, moose are the primary source of food for wolves. Moose usually flee upon detecting wolves. Wolves usually follow moose at a distance of 100 to 400 metres (330 to 1,300 ft), occasionally at a distance of 2 to 3 kilometres (1.2 to 1.9 mi). Attacks from wolves against young moose may last seconds, though sometimes they can be drawn out for days with adults. Sometimes, wolves will chase moose into shallow streams or onto frozen rivers, where their mobility is greatly impeded. Moose will sometimes stand their ground and defend themselves by charging at the wolves or lashing out at them with their powerful hooves. Wolves typically kill moose by tearing at their haunches and perineum, causing massive blood loss. Occasionally, a wolf may immobilise a moose by biting its sensitive nose, the pain of which can paralyze a moose.^[44] Wolf packs primarily target calves and elderly animals, but can and will take healthy, adult moose. Moose between the ages of two and eight are rarely killed by wolves.^[45] Though moose are usually hunted by packs, there are cases in which single wolves have successfully killed moose.^[46]

As food

Moose scat is commonly found on trails. Some souvenir shops sell bags of it, sealed with shellac and labeled with humorous names.

Moose are hunted as a game species in many of the countries where they are found. Moose meat tastes, wrote Henry David Thoreau in “The Maine Woods”, “like tender beef, with perhaps more flavour; sometimes like veal”. While the flesh has protein levels similar to other comparable red meats (e.g. beef, deer and elk) it has a low fat content and the fat that is found is made up of a higher proportion of polyunsaturated fats (rather than saturated fats).^[47]

Cadmium levels are high in Finnish elk liver and kidneys, with the result that consumption of these organs from elk more than one year old is prohibited in Finland.^[48] Cadmium intake has been found to be elevated amongst all consumers of elk meat, though the elk meat was found to contribute only slightly to the daily cadmium intake. However the consumption of moose liver or kidneys significantly increased cadmium intake, with the study revealing that heavy consumers of moose organs have a relatively narrow safety margin below the levels which would probably cause adverse health effects.^[49]

Dr. Valerius Geist, who emigrated to Canada from the Soviet Union, wrote in his 1999 book Moose: Behaviour, Ecology, Conservation:

Those who care most passionately about moose are—paradoxically—hunters, in particular people who live in wilderness and rural communities and those who depend on moose for food. In Sweden, no fall menu is without a mouthwatering moose dish. The Swedes fence their highways to reduce moose fatalities and design moose-proof cars. Sweden is less than half as large as the Canadian province of British Columbia, but the annual take of moose in Sweden—upward of 150,000—is twice that of the total moose harvest in North America. That is how much Swedes cherish their moose.

Boosting of moose populations in Alaska for hunting purposes is one of the reasons given for allowing aerial or airborne methods to remove wolves in designated areas, e.g., Craig Medred: "A kill of 124 wolves would thus translate to [the survival of] 1488 moose or 2976 caribou or some combination thereof".^[50] Many scientists believe that this artificial inflation of game populations is actually detrimental to both caribou and moose populations as well as the ecosystem as a whole. This is because studies have shown that when these game populations are artificially boosted, it leads to both habitat destruction and a crash in these populations^[51] This is why large numbers of people support the Protect America’s Wildlife (PAW) Act which was proposed to Congress by George Miller, the state representative of California in July 2009. This legislation has already received official support from nine former members of Alaska’s Board of Game and Wildlife and conservation groups, including Defenders of Wildlife.

History

Moose with reflection

European rock drawings and cave paintings reveal that moose have been hunted since the Stone Age. Excavations in Alby, Sweden, adjacent to the Stora Alvaret have yielded elk antlers in wooden hut remains from 6000 BC, indicating some of the earliest elk hunting in northern Europe. In northern Scandinavia one can still find remains of trapping pits used for hunting elk. These pits, which can be up to 4 × 7 m wide and 2 m deep, would have been camouflaged with branches and leaves. They would have had steep sides lined with planks, making it impossible for the elk to escape once it fell in. The pits are normally found in large groups, crossing the elk's regular paths and stretching over several kilometres. Remains of wooden fences designed to guide the animals toward the pits have been found in bogs and peat. In Norway, an early example of these trapping devices has been dated to around 3,700 BC. Trapping elk in pits is an extremely effective hunting method, and as early as the 16th century the Norwegian government tried to restrict their use. Nevertheless, the method was in use until the 19th century.

The earliest recorded description of the elk is in Julius Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico, where it is described thus:

"There are also [animals], which are called elks. The shape of these, and the varied colour of their skins, is much like roes, but in size they surpass them a little and are destitute of horns, and have legs without joints and ligatures; nor do they lie down for the purpose of rest, nor, if they have been thrown down by any accident, can they raise or lift themselves up. Trees serve as beds to them ; they lean themselves against them, and thus reclining only slightly, they take their rest; when the huntsmen have discovered from the footsteps of these animals whither they are accustomed to betake themselves, they either undermine all the trees at the roots, or cut into them so far that the upper part of the trees may appear to be left standing. When they have leant upon them, according to their habit, they knock down by their weight the unsupported trees, and fall down themselves along with them."^[52]

the long legs of the moose allow it to wade easily through deep water or snow

In book 8, chapter 16 of Pliny the Elder's Natural History from 77 AD the elk and an animal called achlis, which is presumably the same animal, are described thus:

"...there is, also, the elk, which strongly resembles our steers, except that it is distinguished by the length of the ears and of the neck. There is also the achlis, which is produced in the land of Scandinavia; it has never been seen in this city, although we have had descriptions of it from many persons; it is not unlike the elk, but has no joints in the hind leg. Hence, it never lies down, but reclines against a tree while it sleeps; it can only be taken by previously cutting into the tree, and thus laying a trap for it, as otherwise, it would escape through its swiftness. Its upper lip is so extremely large, for which reason it is obliged to go backwards when grazing; otherwise, by moving onwards, the lip would get doubled up."^[53]

Aggression

Moose are not usually aggressive towards humans, but can be provoked or frightened to behave with aggression. In terms of raw numbers, they attack more people than bears and wolves combined, but usually with only minor consequences. When harassed or startled by people or in the presence of a dog, moose may charge. Also, as with bears or any wild animal, moose that have become habituated to being fed by people may act aggressively when denied food. During the fall mating season, bull moose may be aggressive toward humans due to the high hormone levels they experience during this time. Cows with young calves are very protective and will attack humans who come too close, especially if they come between mother and calf. Unlike other dangerous animals, moose are not territorial, and do not view humans as food, and will therefore usually not pursue humans if they simply run away.^[54] Like any wild animal, moose are unpredictable and should be given a respectful amount of space.

Vehicle collisions

Moose (A. a. gigas) crossing a road, Alaska, USA

A moose's body structure, with a large heavy body suspended on long spindly legs, makes these animals particularly dangerous when hit by passenger cars with low ground clearances. Generally, when colliding with a moose at high speed, the car's bumper and front grille will break the moose's legs, causing the body of the moose to fly up and over the car's hood and deliver the bulk of the animal's weight into the windshield, crushing the front roof support beams and anyone in the front seats. Collisions of this type are frequently lethal; seatbelts offer no protection, and airbags may not deploy or be of much use if they do.^[55] Although vehicles with higher clearances (such as trucks) are typically immune from this effect, the force of striking any 1000+ lb. object at high speed should not be underestimated. These risks led to the development of a vehicle test referred to as the "moose test" (Swedish: Älgtest, German: Elchtest).

Moose warning signs are used on roads in regions where there is a danger of collision with the animal. The triangular warning signs common in Sweden, Norway, and Finland have become coveted souvenirs among tourists traveling in these countries, causing the road authorities so much expense that the moose signs have been replaced with image-less generic warning signs in some regions.^[56]

Moose warning sign from Sweden

Kaliforsky Beach Road, Kenai Alaska, trees and brush are trimmed along high moose crossing areas so that moose can be seen as they approach the road

Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten estimated in January 2008 that some 13,000 moose had died in collisions with Norwegian trains since 2000. The state agency in charge of railroad infrastructure (Jernbaneverket) plans to spend 80 million Norwegian kroner to reduce collision rate in the future by fencing the railways, clearing vegetation from near the tracks, and providing alternative snow-free feeding places for the animals elsewhere.^[57]

In the Canadian province of New Brunswick, collisions with moose are frequent enough that all new highways have fences to prevent moose from accessing the road, similar to how it has long been done in Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Demonstratively, Highway 7 between Fredericton and Saint John, which has one of the highest frequencies of moose collisions in the province, did not have these fences until 2008, although it was and continues to be extremely well signed.^[58][59] In Newfoundland and Labrador, it is recommended to motorists to use caution between dusk and dawn, because that is when moose are most active and most difficult to see, increasing the risk of collisions.^[60] Local moose sightings are often reported on radio stations so that motorists can take care while driving in particular areas.

Domestication

Domestication of moose was investigated in the Soviet Union before World War II. Early experiments were inconclusive, but with the creation of a moose farm at Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve in 1949 a small-scale moose domestication program was started, involving attempts at selective breeding of animals based on their behavioural characteristics. Since 1963, the programme has continued at Kostroma Moose Farm, which had a herd of 33 tame moose as of 2003. Although at this stage the farm is not expected to be a profit-making enterprise, it obtains some income from the sale of moose milk and from visiting tourist groups. Its main value, however, is seen in the opportunities it offers for the research in the physiology and behaviour of the moose, as well as in the insights it provides into the general principles of animal domestication.

In Sweden there was a debate in the late 18th century about the national value of using the moose as a domestic animal. Among other things, the moose was proposed to be used in postal distribution, and there was a suggestion to develop a moose-mounted cavalry. Such proposals remained unimplemented, mainly because the extensive hunting for moose nearly drove it to extinction^[61] and because the moose aggressiveness during the rutting period.

References

Further reading

• Alces, a journal devoted to the biology and management of moose (Alces alces)
• DuTemple, Lesley A. (2000-02-01). North American Moose. Lerner Publications. ISBN 1575054264, 9781575054261. 
• Geist, Valerius; Michael H. Francis (1999-11). Moose: Behavior, Ecology, Conservation. Voyageur Press (MN). ISBN 0896584224. 
• Promack, Jennie; Thomas J. Sanker (1992-06-01). Seasons of the Moose. Gibbs Smith. ISBN 0879054557, 9780879054557. 
• Strong, Paul (1998-05). Wild Moose Country (illustrated ed.). Cowles Creative Publishing. ISBN 155971638X. 

External links

• "Alces alces". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=180703. Retrieved 18 March 2006. 
• A moose in the National Nature Park "Losinyj Ostrov" (Elk's Island) in Russia
• "North American Mammals: Alces alces". http://www.mnh.si.edu/mna/image_info.cfm?species_id=1. Retrieved 2009-11-13. 

For haulage

There are photographic records of moose apparently being broken-in for haulage:

• http://www.museevirtuel.ca/pm.php?id=record_detail&fl=0&lg=Francais&ex=00000067&rd=170539
• http://www.archivesalberta.org/odd/moose.htm
• http://www.chezmaya.com/insolite/moose.htm
• http://www.smouse.force9.co.uk/frindex.htm

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