A moose, also known as a moose, is a mammal that belongs to the order of even-toed ungulates, the suborder of ruminants, the deer family, the genus of moose (lat. Alces).

The name "moose" probably comes from the Old Slavic "ols", which indicates the red color of the fur that newborn moose have. Another common name of the moose in Russia since ancient times, "sohatiy", apparently arose because of the similarity of its horns with a plowshare, an ancient agricultural tool.

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Moose - description, characteristics, structure. What does a moose look like?

Moose is the largest representative of the deer family. The height of the elk at the withers is from 1.70 to 2.35 m, the body length reaches 3 m, and the weight, depending on the sex, varies from 300 to 600 and more kilograms. Some sources indicate the maximum weight of a moose at 825 kg. Males are usually larger than females. Females weigh approximately 200-490 kg.

Moose are a little clumsy in appearance: high-legged, with a short body. They have a powerful chest and shoulders. The moose's legs are long, not thin, with narrow, long hooves. The tail is short, but noticeable. The head is heavy, up to 500 mm long, humped. On the head there are large, very mobile ears, the inflated upper lip hangs over the lower one, and under the throat there is a soft leathery outgrowth, an "earring", 25-40 cm long.

Moose fur consists of coarser long hairs and soft undercoat. In winter, the fur grows up to 10 cm in length. The hair on the nape and neck is longer, in the form of a mane, and reaches 20 cm, which makes it seem that the animal has a hump. The softer fur that grows on the head covers even the lips of the mammal, only on the upper lip between the nostrils there is a small exposed area.

The moose has a brown-black or black color in the upper part of the body, which turns brown in the lower part of the body. The back of the body, rump and buttocks have the same color as the rest of the body: the so-called tail "mirror" is absent. The lower part of the legs is whitish. In summer, moose color is darker than in winter. The length of the animal's tail is 12-13 cm.

Photo credit: AwOiSoAk KaOsIoWa, CC BY-SA 3.0

Front teeth on the upper jaw of the moose are absent, but they are compensated by 8 incisors on the lower jaw. Animals also have 6 pairs of molars (molar teeth) and 6 pairs of premolars (small molars), which are used for chewing food.

Moose swim well (can swim up to 20 km) and run quite fast. The moose's speed reaches 55 km/h.

Moose have the largest horns among all mammals. They reach a span of 180 cm and weigh up to 20 kg. The horn consists of a short trunk and a wide, flat, slightly concave blade, which is surrounded by up to 18 appendages. The number of appendages, their length, as well as the size of the blade itself are different in moose of different ages. The older the moose, the more powerful its horns, the wider the blade, and the shorter the appendages on it. Young fawns grow only small horns a year after birth.

Photo by: Jan Ševčík

At first, elk horns are soft, covered with delicate skin and wool. Blood vessels pass inside the horns, so the horns of a young animal can get sick from insect bites and bleed when wounded, which naturally causes physical pain. A year and 2 months after the birth of the animal, the horns harden, and the blood supply to them stops. In the fifth year of life, moose horns (antlers) become large, powerful and heavy: the blade becomes wider, and the appendages on it are shorter.

When does a moose drop its antlers and why?

In November - December, the moose sheds its old antlers. This process does not cause pain to the animal, but only brings relief. To get rid of the horns as quickly as possible, the elk rubs its horns against the trees. In April - May, the animal begins to grow new horns, which finally harden by the end of July, and in August, moose clean them of their skin. Females do not have horns.

Moose need horns not for protection from predators, as it might seem, but only for the mating ritual. They attract females and repel rival males. After the end of the mating period, they lose their function, and the moose sheds its antlers. This facilitates his existence, as it would be difficult to move with such a weight on his head in winter.

And yet, why do horns fall off? The fact is that after the mating season, the amount of sex hormones in the blood of the elk decreases, as a result, cells appear at the base of the horns, which destroy the bone substance and weaken the place where the horns are attached to the skull. Eventually, the horns fall off. Discarded moose antlers, which contain a lot of protein, are eaten by rodents, birds and predators, or softened in swampy soil.

Photo by: Berdick

Where does the moose live?

Moose are common in the Northern Hemisphere. By the 19th century, the large population of moose was completely destroyed in Europe, excluding Russia, and only as a result of protective measures taken at the beginning of the 20th century, these animals were resettled in Northern and Eastern Europe. Now on the European continent, moose live in the countries of the Scandinavian Peninsula (Finland, Norway), in the north of Ukraine, in Belarus, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, the Baltic countries (Latvia, Estonia), in Russia: from the Kola Peninsula in the north to the southern steppes. In Asia, they occupy the taiga zone of Siberia, reaching the forest tundra, as well as the Far East, northeastern China, and Northern Mongolia. In North America, moose live in Canada, Alaska, and the northeastern United States.

Photo credit: Jürgen Gbruiker, CC BY-SA 3.0

As for natural habitats, moose usually settle in coniferous and mixed forests with swamps, quiet rivers and streams; in the forest tundra - on birches and aspen; along the banks of steppe rivers and lakes - in floodplain thickets; in mountain forests - in valleys, on gentle slopes, plateaus. Loggers prefer forests with dense undergrowth, young growth, avoiding high-stemmed, monotonous forest areas.

Photo credit: Xyzzycoder, CC BY 3.0

Moose are more or less sedentary and do not move around much. Making small transitions in search of food, they stay in one area for a long time. In summer, the area where moose lives and feeds is wider than in winter. From places where the snow cover reaches 70 cm or more in winter, mammals move to areas with less snow. This is characteristic of the regions of the Urals, Siberia, and the Far East. The first to go are moose from fawns, followed by males and females without offspring. In the spring, moose return to their usual habitats in the reverse order.

Photo author: Oleksandr Belyaev, CC0

Moose are mostly kept alone or in small groups. In winter, animals gather in herds in places where there is more feed and less snow. Such favorable places, in which there is a lot of food and a lot of individuals gather, are called "stable" in Russia, and "yard" in Canada. In the spring, the moose will disperse again.

What does moose eat?

Moose is a herbivore that feeds on woody and shrubby and herbaceous plants, mosses, lichens, and mushrooms. The type of feed changes with the change of season. In summer, the main food of animals is the leaves of trees and shrubs, aquatic plants, grasses. Moose eat the best leaves of aspen, rowan, ash, maple, birch, buckthorn, cherry, and willow. Also, mammals like swamp, water and near-water plants: water lilies, water lilies, calendula, horsetails. In spring and early summer, they eat sedge in large quantities. They prefer tall, juicy umbrella grasses, cypress or Ivan-tea, sorrel, which grow on mountains and meadows. Until the end of summer, moose eat mushrooms, sprigs of blueberries and lingonberries with berries. In autumn, moose also eat bark and fallen leaves. In September, animals begin to bite the shoots and branches of trees and shrubs, and by November they almost completely switch to wood food: branches, needles, bark. In the first half of winter, moose prefer to feed on deciduous species of trees and shrubs, in the second half on conifers. The winter food of moose includes raspberries, pine, willow, fir, mountain ash. Also, animals eat bark during a thaw or in southern regions, where it does not freeze as much as in the north, they eat lichens, finding them on trees during a thaw or on the ground under snow. Mammals also extract sedge rags and berry bushes from under the snow. In winter, moose drink very little water and do not eat snow in order not to lose heat.

In different parts of the range of habitat, woodpeckers can use different feeds. Very often, animals in one region absolutely do not eat food that in another part they use with pleasure. An adult moose eats up to 35 kg of feed in the summer and 12-15 kg in the winter.

In addition, moose are very fond of salt and visit natural or artificial salt marshes almost everywhere: they gnaw salt-rich soil, lick stones, and drink brackish water. Saltwater for moose is a source of minerals.

Moose do not have a specific feeding and resting time during the day. In the summer, with the appearance of insects (mosquitoes, midges, midges) and the onset of heat, they rest more during the day, resting in cool or damp places, on meadows where the wind blows, lying in shallow water, periodically entering water up to their necks. They eat mainly at dawn or at night. In winter, periods of feeding and rest alternate several times a day. In severe frosts, the moose lies down a lot, plunging into the loose snow, wanders into thickets under the cover of young conifers. During the race, animals are active at any time of the day.

Why does moose eat fly agaric?

Moose, like some other animals, eat mushrooms, including amanita. The effect of these poisonous mushrooms on the body of animals has not yet been studied. Most likely, with the help of a small amount of poison, moose expel parasites from the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, among Siberian hunters there is an opinion that moose eat amanita during the hunt. Perhaps, by eating a few mushrooms, the moose increases the tone of the body.

Life expectancy of moose.

The lifespan of moose under favorable conditions is 20-25 years. But in nature, this term is much shorter and often does not exceed 10 years. Most of the moose die early: from natural enemies, wolves and bears, from diseases, from the hands of man, for whom the moose is the most important commercial animal, they drown on river crossings during the ice retreat. Young fawns cannot stand the cold in long springs.

Types of moose, photos and names.

The genus of moose has always been considered to consist of one species - moose (lat. Alces Alces). Within the species, several American, European and Asian subspecies were distinguished. Thanks to the modern achievements of genetics, a new classification has been defined, according to which the genus of moose (lat. Alces) includes 2 species: the European moose and the American moose. The number of subspecies is still undefined and likely to change.

• Species Alces Alces (Linnaeus, 1758) – European (eastern) moose

• Subspecies Alces Alces Alces (Linnaeus, 1758) is a European moose
• Alces subspecies Alces caucazicus (Vereshchagin, 1955) - Caucasian moose

• Species Alces Americanus (Clinton, 1822) - American (western) moose
• The subspecies Alces Americanus Americanus (Clinton, 1822) is the eastern Canadian moose
• Subspecies Alces Americanus Cameloides (Milne-Edwards, 1867) – Ussuri moose

Below is a description of currently existing moose species.

• European moose (lat. Alces Alces ) in Russia is often called sokha. The length of the moose reaches 270 cm, and the height at the withers is 220 cm. The European moose weighs up to 600-655 kg. Females are smaller in size. The color of the animal is dark or black-brown, with a black stripe on the back. The end of the muzzle and the legs below are light. The upper lip, belly and inner parts of the legs are almost white. In summer, the color is darker. Elk antler with a well-developed shovel, up to 135 cm in span. The European elk lives in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, the European part of Russia, in the Urals, in Western Siberia up to the Yenisei and Altai.

Photo by: Elias Neideck

Photo by: Milan Kořinek

• American elk (lat. Alces Americanus) - sometimes this species is called East Siberian. It has a variegated color: the top of the body and the neck are rusty or gray-brown; belly, lower sides and upper legs are black. The color is darker in summer, lighter in winter. The weight of an adult elk varies from 300 to 600 kg or more. Body dimensions are about the same as in Alces Alces. Elk horns have a widely separated blade. The front process, separated from the blade, branches. The range of the horns reaches more than 100 cm. The width of the blade reaches 40 cm. The American elk lives in Eastern Siberia, the Far East, Northern Mongolia, and North America.

Breeding of moose.

Moose are ready for breeding at the age of 3. The mating period begins in August - September and lasts about two months, sometimes it can end only in November. A male rarely has more than one female during a rut. On elk farms, it has happened that one male has impregnated several females, but this is unusual.

male elk

Female moose. Photo credit: Tony Hisgett, CC BY 2.0

During the rut period, moose lose their caution and roam the roads. Males start the race with a dull moan, "groan" or roar in the morning and evening, are aggressive, break branches and tree tops with their horns, can attack people, fight among themselves over females. Steaming happens as often as once a day, very quickly, within a few seconds. The moose's pregnancy lasts 225-240 days (according to some data, up to 250 days). Calving lasts from April to July, depending on the area of ​​residence. A moose is usually born alone. Old females can have two cubs, one of which often dies.

A newborn baby moose has a light red monotone color. The baby gets up on its feet already a few minutes after birth, and after a few days it freely follows its mother. The female elk feeds him milk usually for 3.5-4 months, sometimes longer. Moose milk is similar to cow's milk, but it is fattier (fat content 8-13%), less sweet and contains 5 times more proteins (12-16%). At birth, fawns weigh from 6 to 16 kg, but they gain weight very quickly and increase it 10 times in six months.

Moose as a pet.

There is a practice of domesticating moose. After the first feeding, a wild moose becomes attached to a person for life. Females easily get used to milking. Moose are very hardy animals, they can be sledded and ridden. They are irreplaceable in swampy taiga, hard-to-pass forests, off-road. In the summer, they can be used for work only at night, as animals can die from the heat. It is much colder in winter, so there is no such restriction.

Elk meat is less fatty and tougher than that of other deer, used in the production of raw smoked sausage and preserves.

Photo by: LebedevXD, CC BY-SA 3.0

Enemies of moose in nature.

Among animals, moose have few enemies. Not every animal found a common language with the "forest giant". This can be done mainly by bears (brown and grizzly), as well as wolves. Bears attack moose in snowy northern areas in the spring when they come out of their dens. Predators try to either ambush the moose or drive it into dense thickets, where it cannot fight back with its hooves. They can chase moose for many kilometers. Often, their prey is young moose and newborn fawns, although females fiercely protect their offspring. There are known cases when moose, defending themselves, killed or seriously injured a bear attacker with their hooves.

Another enemy of moose is the wolf. Unlike bears, wolves hunt moose in areas with little snow in their habitat. In deep snow, a wolf cannot catch up even with a young elk. A wolf does not attack an adult moose without extreme necessity. A powerful animal can easily kill him with a hoof. Therefore, wolves prefer to attack young animals and sick animals. Wolves hunt adult moose only in a pack, trying to come from behind.

The value of other predators, which include wolverine and lynx, is small for moose. They can only harm very young, injured, sick and exhausted animals.

The moose has been a farm animal for humans since ancient times. At the same time, man is the main enemy of moose. Even with the help of primitive weapons, people were able to completely destroy moose in Western Europe until the 20th century. Currently, poachers are actively reducing the number of moose, as well as other ungulates. In addition, many moose fall under the wheels of cars. But the moose was included in the International Red Book and the Red Book of Russia. At the moment, the protection status of the animal causes the least concern.

Photo credit: Ryan Hodnett, CC BY-SA 4.0

What is the difference between an elk and a deer?

Moose and deer are representatives of the same family, which have significant differences between themselves:

• The moose is the largest of the deer family, an adult moose weighs from 300 to 600 or more kilograms, and its height at the withers can reach 2.35 meters. A deer is a smaller animal. Its weight usually does not exceed 200 kg, and its height reaches 1.5 meters in large species.
• The moose's legs are long and thin, expanding into hooves. Deer have shorter and more proportional legs.
• Deer horns develop vertically, while elk horns develop horizontally and have a different structure.

Above is a deer, below is an elk

• Female moose, like female deer, do not have antlers. But there is an exception among deer: for example, female reindeer wear horns, while water deer are hornless regardless of gender.
• As a rule, moose live separately, and among deer there are both single animals and herds.
• The moose spends a lot of time in water, which is not characteristic of many deer. Although, for example, water deer live in swampy areas, they are excellent swimmers and can swim several kilometers.

On the left is a deer, on the right is an elk

Interesting facts about moose:

• A moose cannot see a motionless person at a distance of several meters, but it has good hearing and sense of smell.
• In Siberia, in ancient times, in addition to the word "shohaty", the name "beast", which is applied to moose, was common.
• During the civil war, the 1st Cavalry Army of Semyon Budyonny had a special unit whose fighters rode moose. These detachments were formed for the rapid movement of combat units in the difficult swampy areas of northern Ukraine and Belarus. Budyonny's experience was also used during the Soviet-Finnish war. Our moose fighters caused quite a stir among the Finns who happened to see them. Rumors spread among the Finnish soldiers that "the Russians made a deal with the spirits of the forest."
• Having established that moose droppings contain a lot of cellulose due to the fact that moose mainly eat wood, the Swedes began to use it to produce environmentally friendly paper "Moose poopoopaper".
• There has been a moose monument in Vyborg since 1928. According to legend, it was erected in memory of the elk who saved a group of lost hunters from a pack of wolves at the cost of his life.
• A moose becomes attached to its tame person for life. A tame elk got lost, met its "feeder" in the taiga 2 years later, recognized him by his voice, followed him 10 km to the farm and stayed there to live.
• In heraldry, the moose is a symbol of endurance, strength and power.

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