The Moose’s unique features are: large size; dark brown coat; long, usually light-coloured, slender legs; large ears; long head with a bulbous muzzle; skin flap hanging from the throat; hump above the shoulders; and lack of an obvious light rump patch. In males, the large, broad palmated antlers bordered by short tines or points are also species specific. The European Fallow Deer, the only other species with palmated antlers, is much smaller, has smaller antlers and has different body coloration.
Elk and horses are similar in size to Moose, but both lack the shoulder hump and bell. Elk do not have the long head and bulbous muzzle, and have a large light brown or tan-coloured rump patch. Also the colour of the neck and legs in Elk is usually darker than the body, unlike Moose. A horse’s legs are shorter and more stout than a Moose’s, and have wide, single hooves; and the long upper neck mane and long-haired tail are unique to horses.
The skull of a Moose is unlike that of any other British Columbian ungulate. It has short nasal bones and characteristically long premaxillae and maxillae bones that extend more than 200 mm in front of the first upper premolar in adults. Similarly, the diastema of the lower jaw is long (only the Giraffe has a proportionately longer one).
Adult Moose tracks are unique, being much longer (about 150 to 180 mm) than those of Mule Deer or White-tailed Deer, and narrower with much sharper front points than similar-sized tracks of Elk, Caribou, Bison or Domestic Cattle (Figure 38). Dry faecal pellets of Moose, are much larger than those of Caribou, Mule Deer or White-tailed Deer. They are similar in size to those of Elk, but are rounded at both ends, whereas Elk pellets have a dimple at one end and a short projection at the other.
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Birth takes place in June after a gestation period of 240 to 246 days, and newborns weigh from 11 to 16 kg. Twins are common in areas with good nutritional conditions, otherwise single births are the rule, and triplets are rare. Females seek seclusion to give birth (e.g., islands in rivers). Mothers will drive away their yearling offspring, but may re-unite with them a few weeks after giving birth. It is not clear whether young Moose use the follower or hider strategy. Predation on young Moose can be high in the first year of life, mainly by bears and wolves. Female Moose are extremely protective of their young and respond aggressively towards any perceived threat to their offspring, charging with ears back and hair raised, ready to lash out with their long front legs and sharp hooves.
If nutritional conditions are favourable, female Moose may give birth as early as their second birthday, but most are usually three years old before their first young are born. Yearling males produce viable spermatozoa, but most have little opportunity to mate until a few years older.
| Moose are primarily browsers, but their diet varies seasonally and geographically. In early winter, they feed on twigs of deciduous trees and shrubs. While it is difficult to generalize because of geographic differences, Moose commonly eat Paper Birch, willows and Trembling Aspen, with willows probably being the most important winter forage. Other preferred but less common foods include Red Osier Dogwood, Mountain Ash, Cottonwood, False Box, Saskatoon, Hazel and Highbush-cranberry. As winter progresses and snow continues to accumulate, covering many deciduous species, Moose feed increasingly on coniferous trees, particularly Subalpine Fir. Signs of Moose feeding on deciduous trees and shrubs are quite common. They range from heavily browsed shrubs that have short, dense, many-branched twigs and branches, to young deciduous trees with their tops bent over or broken. Because of their long legs, Moose may sometimes kneel down to reach low growing plants such as forbs. At other times, they will straddle and push down small deciduous trees to gain access to the top branches. In spring and summer, Moose feed on new leaves and growing shoots of browse species and also take a wide range of terrestrial herbs, such as Fireweed. They will also feed, sometimes heavily, on emergent and floating vegetation (e.g., Swamp Horsetail, Bur-reeds, and various species of Pondweed) in swamps and ponds, and along lake margins. While consuming aquatic vegetation, Moose often venture into deep water up to their shoulders and feed with their heads completely submerged. Their use of aquatic plants in summer has been linked to these plants’ high sodium content. In the late summer and fall, as forbs die back, Moose feed once more on deciduous browse species. An adult Moose is estimated to need as much as 19 kg of food each day. |
Determining the age of a Moose is most easily accomplished by counting the cementum annuli of the incisors. The average life expectancy for adult Moose is 8 to 10 years, and few Moose in B.C. are older than 17 years of age.
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Wolves are the main predators of Moose, most of the time taking the oldest and youngest members of the population, while bears prey heavily on young in some areas. Most healthy adult Moose can defend themselves from predators with aggressive behaviour, including kicks from their front and hind feet. In some regions of the province, collisions with trains can be a major cause of winter mortality. This occurs when Moose become trapped in the railroad right-of-way by high snow banks piled alongside the tracks.
Some Moose can suffer severe hair loss in the late winter or spring caused by heavy infestations of the Winter Tick. Affected individuals rub and scratch themselves in an effort to rid themselves of the parasites and in the process, remove their outer guard hairs, leaving the lighter coloured under-hair. The resulting light colouring has led to the term Ghost Moose. The Winter Tick is carried by other species besides Moose, including Caribou, Elk, Mule Deer, White-tailed Deer and Bison. The ticks stay on the host during the winter, then in the spring, the fertilized females drop off the host to lay their eggs. Larval ticks seek a host in the fall, gradually developing into adults during the winter. If tick numbers and hair loss are extreme, affected Moose may become anaemic from blood loss, and in extreme cases, die from exposure and hypothermia in times of inclement weather. Moose in B.C. are infected by the American Liver Fluke. If infestations are heavy and associated with malnutrition, they may contribute to the death of the animal. Moose Sickness is a neurological disease caused by the Meningeal or Brain Worm. The usual vertebrate host is the White-tailed Deer. Transmission of this parasite from deer to Moose has been implicated in population declines in eastern North America in the first half of the 20th century, but the true role of the parasite is unknown. It is not reported in western Moose populations.
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Moose may be the least social of B.C.’s ungulates. Like most hoofed mammals, the sexes live apart for much of the year, and the males are generally solitary. Females usually live only with their offspring until the young is just over a year old, although they may remain together longer if the mother fails to give birth that year. In some areas, males aggregate in the fall at the beginning of the mating season. Moose are particularly vocal during the rut, and a variety of vocalizations have been described as moans, barks, croaks and grunts. Females also vocalize in the rut, and also use a grunt to call the young. The young will sometimes bawl like a domestic calf.
Both sexes show aggression by lowering their ears with the insides facing forward and raising the hair on their neck and shoulders. In the rut, male Moose display their antlers when they approach each other, walking in a slow, stiff-legged gait, tilting their head and antlers from side to side in an exaggerated see-saw motion, sometimes accompanied by a nasal vocalization. The stiff gait and rhythmic tilting movement of the head may draw attention to the large, light-coloured palms that are oriented forward and towards the opponent. Two males will often circle each other, displaying in this fashion. Like many other deer, they will also thrash nearby bushes with their antlers during the display’s early phase. Thrashing noises probably function as a threat; they may also attract rival males. One or both interacting males may show displacement feeding, turning away from the other to feed briefly or just lower the head to the ground. If one rival does not move away, the two opponents will likely lock antlers, pushing and wrestling until one finally breaks away. Fights occasionally become vicious and animals can be injured or even killed. Broken ribs are not uncommon. While there are substantiated reports of Moose locking antlers and dying because they are unable to disengage, this situation is extremely rare. Females in the rut are also aggressive, charging each other with ears down and hair raised, and striking out with a foreleg. While the antlers are still growing or after they have been shed, male Moose will fight using their front feet in the same manner as females.
Mating takes place between early September and late October in B.C. At this time both sexes of this mostly solitary species will actively seek mates. The mating system of Moose is quite flexible, and ranges from pairs to loose associations of up to 20 adults. Habitat structure and Moose abundance seem to be the determining factors, with open areas allowing the larger associations. Female Moose appear much more pro-active in the mating season than females of other ungulate species. They are also vocal at this time, making long quavering moans variously described as a long drawn out “oo-oo-aw” or “mwar” in which the last note drops. These calls can be heard more than three kilometres away.
A male Moose uses his forelegs to scrape a small depression in soft, wet ground, urinate in it and then wallow, rubbing its bell, chin and lower parts of the antlers in the urine-soaked mud. The odour seems to attract females who will approach, sniff the male and then also wallow in the depressions. The male’s courtship is not particularly elaborate. He approaches the female from her rear, sniffs her, and if she urinates, he almost always lip-curls. If she is coming into heat, he then follows behind her and later places his chin on her rump. If she does not move away, he briefly mounts and copulates with her. Throughout his courtship, the male utters soft grunts or croaks, although the females reportedly show no obvious reaction to them. Females come into oestrus every 21 days, and remain in heat for about 24 hours.
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