Species Fact Profile: Moose (Alces alces)

 Moose

Alces alces (Linnaeus, 1758)

Range: Northern North America (Canada, Alaska, northern continental United States) and Eurasia (Scandinavia/northern Europe, Russia, northern China and Mongolia

Habitat: Coniferous and Deciduous Forest, usually found near water

Diet: Stems, Twigs, Leaves, Shoots, Aquatic Plants.  Favorites include willow, aspen, birch

Social Grouping: Solitary outside of breeding or mother with calves.  Not territorial 

Reproduction:  Breeding occurs September or October.  Polygynous.  Gestation period 231 days.  Usually a single calf, sometimes twins.  Calves hidden at birth but can start following mother at 3 weeks, weaned at 5 months, independent at 1 year.  Sexually mature at 2 years, but males usually aren't able to secure access to a female until 4-5 years old

Lifespan: 8 Years

      Conservation Status: IUCN Least Concern

•       Largest species of deer.  Stand up to 2.3 meters at the shoulder, up to 3.1 meters long, and can weigh over 700 kilograms.  Males are about 40% larger than females.  Southern moose are smaller than northern ones, with the Alaskans being the largest.  Ears are long, tails are tiny .  Most distinctive trait is the large, bulbous, drooping muzzle,  the upper lip hanging over the lower lip.  A flap of furred skin under the neck, the bell, is present in males, sometimes in females
•       The antlers are the largest of any deer and can weigh up to 35 kilograms, spreading over 200 centimeters from tip to tip.  The antlers of North American moose are palmate (flat, broad), while those of Eurasian moose more closely resemble those of other deer.  Antlers are usually seen only in males, and are shed each winter and grow back in the spring.  Very rarely, cows may grow antlers due to hormone imbalances
•       Fur is dark brown or black, sometimes with a greyish tint, lighter on the legs.  All-white moose have been reported, but are rare.  Calves are reddish-brown and have a solid-colored coat, not the spotted pattern seen in many other deer species.  
•       Despite ungainly appearance, they are fast runners, clocked with a maximum speed of 56 kilometers/hour, sustained speed of 9.6 kilometers per hour.  They are also excellent swimmers, logged at swimming distances of up to 20 kilometers and diving to depths of over 5 meters
•       When feeding underwater, the nostrils are closed by fatty pads, responding to changes in water pressure. Adults require up to 30 kilograms of plants per day.
• ·         Predators across the range include gray wolves, brown and black bears, coyotes, pumas, and Amur tigers.  Bears are more important predators in the spring when calves are present, wolves in the winter when snow impedes the movement of moose and makes them easier to catch.  Moose defend themselves with their antlers and with kicks with their hooves.  Weakened moose have been taken by wolverines.  There are reports of moos swimming between islands being taken by orcas and, at least once, by a Greenland shark
•      “Moose” is from the Algonquin word for “Twig Eater.”  In Eurasia, the species is called the elk, not to be confused with the deer that also goes by that name in North America, the wapiti (Cervus canadensis).  Old English dictionaries simply define an elk as “a deer as large as a horse”·         
•       Subspecies include the nominate, or Eurasian; the Yakutia of eastern Siberia, Mongolia, and Manchuria (A. a. pfizenmayeri), the Amur of eastern Russia and China (A. a. cameloides), the Chukotka of eastern Siberia (A. a. buturlini), the eastern moose of North America (A. a. americana), the western (A. a. andersoni), the Alaskan (A. a. gigas), and the Shiras’ moose of the Rocky Mountains (A. a. shirasi).  The now-extinct moose of the Caucasus (A. a. causcasicus) ranged as far south as Iran and Turkey.
•      Some researches divide this species into two, with Alces alces being limited to the Eurasian populations and Alces americana representing the North American moose.  This argument has been made on the basis of some morphological differences (such as antlers_ as well as possible differences in chromosome counts 
•      Populations are overall robust, in some cases expanding, though some subspecies or local populations are in decline.  Tolerant of habitat disturbance, as clearing or burning forests promotes new growth for them to feed on
•       Hunted throughout much of their range, both for meat and for sport.  Historically, their hides were also valued for making leather, especially among Native Americans.  Moose hunting is an important draw for tourists in many rural communities in the north.
•          North American populations may be in decline due to competition and diseases introduced by the rapidly-expanding populations of white-tailed and mule deer, which are encroaching northward.  Heavy tick infestations can also threaten moose, as they lose their fur while trying to ride themselves of the pests and become more susceptible to hypothermia in the winter
• ·         There have been some programs in place to farm moose, including for their milk.  Domestication has been proposed off and on for years, with proposed use as pack animals, mounts (including for cavalry), and food, all of which have seen some small-scale usage, but negligible overall
• ·        Some efforts at reintroduction into former parts of their range, including the reintroduction of two moose into the Scottish Highlands in 2008.  They have also been introduced into areas outside of their native range, including in New Zealand in 1900; the species may or may not still be present in that country

      Zookeeper's Journal: I was almost in college before I first saw a moose.  Looking back on it, that's crazy.  By that age I had seen giant pandas (only in four US zoos at the time), koalas, Komodo dragons, and a host of other super-rare species from the opposite side of the globe - but not moose.  Not a species that could be found, in the wild, a long day's drive from my home.   Since then, I've only seen moose a handful of times - and always in zoos that are within the native range of the species.  Moose are notoriously hard to keep healthy in zoos, with warm temperatures and insects plaguing them.  Historically their diet was also problematic and they were prone to stomach ulcers (though recent advances in zoo nutritional science seem to have largely solved that problem).  The species may start to become a little more common, but I don't except that it will ever be as abundant as bison, elk, bighorn, or any other large mammal of the Lower 48.