Daily activity and behavior of moose. What does moose eat?

Ecology

Basics:

Moose are the largest representatives of the deer family. Males wear giant horns on their heads, which they shed every winter. These antlers are somewhat different in shape from deer antlers. They help moose hear better.

Unlike their relatives, deer, moose lead a solitary lifestyle and do not form a herd. Despite their slow movements and good-natured disposition, moose can sometimes become quite aggressive and move surprisingly quickly if angered or frightened.

Mating season for elk begins in the fall, when fierce fights can occur between males who compete for the right to mate with a particular female.

Moose are large and heavy, they have elongated muzzles and massive heads, short tails, a hump on the back and huge ears, which animals can rotate. Thanks to its long legs, the elk easily moves in the snowdrifts, and warm fur saves it from the severe cold. They have a good sense of smell and hearing, but moose do not see very well.

Females and males are approximately the same height (1.2-1.8 meters), but males are usually heavier and weigh on average about 430 kilograms, while females weigh 340 kilograms. Moose eat up to 25 kilograms of plant food daily and can different time years to migrate in search of fresher plants. Moose get the most strength from flowering plants and fresh shoots of trees - willows and birches. These plants are quite low in sodium, and elk must eat large quantities of aquatic plants to supplement the mineral deficiency. Despite low calorie content, they are high in sodium, so about half of the moose’s diet consists of river and marsh plants. An elk can eat up to 50 kilograms of food at a time.

Moose are usually solitary creatures, but there is a strong bond between mother and calf. One female gives birth to 1-2 cubs in May or June. A newborn calf has reddish-colored fur and stays with its mother for about a year until another calf is born. The babies grow fast puberty they have it at 2 years of age. Life expectancy is 15-25 years.

Habitat:

Moose are very common in the northern parts Northern Hemisphere. Some of their representatives live in North America - Alaska, Canada, the Rocky Mountains, Utah and Colorado. They are also seen in states such as Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire and North Dakota.

Moose are also found in Siberia, Scandinavia, Mongolia and China.

Security status: causing the least concern.

There are between 800 thousand and 1.2 million moose in North America. Every year, hunters destroy approximately 90 thousand of these animals. The natural enemies of moose are bears and wolves. Fortunately, moose reproduce well and despite over-harvesting, there are quite a lot of them. They easily adapt to new conditions and can expand their habitat.

Moose can reach speeds of up to 56 kilometers per hour.

They are excellent swimmers, and can swim at speeds of up to 10 kilometers per hour - not bad for a creature with four legs. Moose can even dive and hold their breath for up to 30 seconds.

Males shed their antlers after the mating season to conserve energy for the winter. In the spring he will grow a new pair of antlers. Horns take 3-5 months to fully develop, making them the fastest growing organ in animals.

Moose have extremely sensitive noses. Wolves know about this property, so when attacking they can sometimes grab the animal by the nose. The elk is paralyzed by severe pain and cannot resist the predator.

Moose have been hunted since the Stone Age. Excavations in Sweden have shown that people hunted elk and deer in Northern Europe 6 thousand years ago.

Moose can be domesticated. In Sweden at the end of the 18th century, debate arose about how beneficial it would be for the country to domesticate moose. Among others, there were proposals to use moose for mail distribution, but these plans were never implemented, apparently due to their strong aggressiveness during the breeding season, as well as due to overharvesting, which led to the extinction of these animals in Sweden.

Elk is the largest representative in the Deer family. It is also the tallest ungulate after the giraffe. But if a giraffe reaches such a height due to long neck, then the elk is a true giant. From time immemorial, moose have been hunted, but the attitude towards this animal was not purely consumerist, but respectful. Among the American Indians, bearing the name Moose was considered an honor.

Elk (Alces alces).

Among other deer, the elk stands out sharply due to its appearance. The first thing that catches your eye is its huge size - the body length can reach 3 m, the height of the elk exceeds 2 m, and its weight is 500-600 kg. The elk's body is relatively short, but its legs are very long. The muzzle of the elk also does not look like its brothers. The moose's head is large and heavy, the muzzle is long and large upper lip hangs slightly over the bottom. Moose antlers characteristic shape: the base of the horn (trunk) is short, from it the processes spread forward, to the sides and back in a semi-fan, the trunk is connected to the processes by a flattened part - a “shovel”. For this shape, the elk received the nickname “elk”.

Some moose have a fold of skin hanging under the throat, the so-called “earring”.

However, the shape of the horns varies among moose from different regions. Their size also depends on the age of the elk: the older the animal, the wider the size of the “shovel” and the more branches it has. Only males wear moose antlers. The color of moose is the same - dark brown with a lighter belly and legs.

An extremely rare white moose.

The hooves of elk, compared to other deer, are very wide. This shape of hooves is necessary for animals to move through the viscous soil of swamps, which is not easy for such a giant. Long legs allow the elk to easily move in dense forests, along muddy river banks and deep snow.

If necessary, elk can easily reach speeds of 30-40 km/h.

Its distribution area is huge. It is found in Europe, Asia and North America from the border of the tundra in the north to forest-steppe areas in the south. IN prehistoric times moose formed the basis of food primitive people along with deer, aurochs (primitive bulls) and mammoths. Moose have now been extirpated from many parts of their range. For example, in Western Europe they can only be found in Scandinavian countries.

A huge elk in the forest can be invisible.

Moose are purely forest animals. On the one hand, they gravitate toward dense and impassable forests, on the other, they are often forced to feed on the edges and in thickets along river banks. In North America, moose often visit populated areas.

A moose wandered into a parking lot (USA). The photo clearly shows the real size of the beast.

Moose lead a solitary lifestyle and even during the rut do not form large concentrations. Moose feed mainly on branches of trees and bushes. In some tree nurseries, moose are pests because they can completely eat a couple of hectares of young pines over the winter.

Moose especially like branches of willow, birch, aspen and pine.

In summer, moose willingly eat grass, mushrooms and even algae. Elks are generally partial to aquatic vegetation; they gladly visit bodies of water, where they not only hide from summer midges, but also graze. An elk can even dive for a portion of algae, although usually it is enough for a long-legged elk to simply bend its neck.

Elk feeds in a pond.

The mating season for moose begins at August-September. The males begin to roar dully. Females come to their call. Elk rarely form large aggregations during the rut, and they also do not engage in exhausting fights between males.

Usually, after several such butts, the weak one gives way to a stronger opponent.

Females give birth to one (less often two) moose calves in April-May. Like all deer, moose calves prefer to lie down under some bush for the first week of life (although they can walk), only then do they begin to accompany their mother.

Female moose with calf.

It is interesting that at first the long-legged elk calves cannot reach the grass and graze on their knees.

A young elk grazes on his knees.

However, babies grow quickly and soon begin to eat on the same basis as their mother. Moose live 20-25 years, but in nature they usually die earlier. Natural enemies moose have a lot. The large size of the moose does not scare away predators, but rather even attracts them. After all, by killing one such giant you can provide yourself with food for many days to come. The main enemies of moose are wolves and bears. If big bear can fight with elk on equal terms, then wolves contrast elk with agility and numbers. A wolf alone will not dare to fight an elk, but a pack of wolves poses a serious danger. Often wolves adhere to the tactic of driving (wearing down) an elk, driving it out open space and surround.

A pack of wolves caught a moose.

It is difficult for Sokhat to maintain a perimeter defense, especially if the fight takes place on the ice of a reservoir. Here the elk's legs perform a sad service. Long-legged moose are completely helpless on ice and can simply break their limbs (even without the participation of wolves). The picture looks completely different when the elk is in the thicket. Here he often takes a defensive defense: covering his rear with some tree or thickets of bushes, the elk defends itself from attackers with blows from its front legs. With these signature blows, the elk is capable of splitting the skull of a wolf and can easily defend itself against a bear. Therefore, predators avoid meeting elk face to face. Elk calves can be attacked by cougars and lynxes. For moose, winter lack of food poses a great danger; some animals die in winter from exhaustion.

For humans, elk is also a desirable prey. Elk meat tastes like beef, but as always main reason human vanity becomes the hunt for it. Moose antlers taken from a live animal are considered an honorable trophy. And often not even horns, but simple photo with the obtained trophy, becomes the goal of this hunt. Few people know that the formidable and powerful elk can be easily tamed. By the way, moose are rarely seen in zoos. Moose are difficult to keep because they consume a lot of branch food, which is not easy to provide for the animals. Moose are also sensitive to overheating, so they are not kept in zoos in hot countries. But in the Pechoro-Ilych Nature Reserve in the 50-60s, experiments were conducted on the domestication of elk. Unlike most crazy experiments of the Soviet era, these attempts were very successful. Within a short time, it was possible to create a moose farm, all of whose pets were absolutely tame and controllable. It turned out that to tame a moose, it is enough to simply feed it milk.

Little moose calves become so attached to a person that they simply perceive him as their mother.

The experiment revealed another unusual quality of moose - they have phenomenal memory. An elk fed by a human remembers its teacher all its life! There were cases when moose raised by people went into the forest, but when they met many years later, adult wild animals recognized the person and responded to the name! The question is, why does a person need a domesticated elk? It turned out that there are many discoveries on this issue as well. Not only can elk be a source of meat, it can also be milked. Moose milk has a higher fat content than cow's milk, and males can be used as draft animals. Sounds funny? But don't rush to conclusions. After all, domesticated moose were not intended for middle zone, but for remote taiga areas, where traditional livestock farming has no place. It turned out to be more profitable to use moose to move across deep off-road terrain than horses. But the experiments did not receive a worthy continuation. As usual, the country’s leadership decided that they would drive all-terrain vehicles and lay railways in permafrost is more correct than messing with living beings. But in the USA moose farms still exist today.

What do moose eat?

Moose find the most food in the summer. A huge amount grows in the tundra moss and various lichens. Even more food can be found in the taiga.

And on the banks of reservoirs they grow water lilies and horsetails, which these animals also do not disdain.

Moose in autumn begin to eat bush branches or fallen foliage

It's not easy for the elk V winter time of the year. They are looking for branches and bark. Helps them with this high growth, which allows you to reach high branches. In winter, moose hide in coniferous forests, where you can also find enough food. Only with the onset of a thaw do they begin to gnaw the bark.

In spring they eat snowdrops and lilies of the valley. If you're lucky, the eagles will happily feast on the freshest willow shoots, young pine needles or birch catkins. Fresh young grass is another part of their spring diet.

What else do moose like?

Moose love mushrooms, so they diligently look for them when autumn comes. Most of all they like white and boletus. Adult moose remember mushroom places to visit there again and again. The most interesting thing is that these animals eat fly agarics. It doesn't have any effect negative influence on their body. All necessary Moose get their vitamins from various berries. For example:

cowberry;
blueberry;
raspberries;
blackberry.

The animal tries to properly eat fat in the summer in order to survive the winter without any problems.

Moose cannot live without salt, so they are trying by all means to find her. If they find salt licks, they immediately begin to lick the soil to get this mineral. Moose have to go out on the roads in winter, knowing that salt forms on the asphalt surface.

The elk love to live close to various bodies of water, because they have their favorite delicacy - seaweed. The animal can hold its breath, so it dives after them on its own.

Elk is a truly huge animal, and therefore a particularly valuable object of hunting. The weight of the largest specimens can be around half a ton, this is a large amount of tasty healthy meat. In addition, elk skin was used for sewing various products, and antlers were used for crafts. Even in principle, catching such a large animal is a great pleasure. After all, this is a difficult task that can be accomplished by experienced hunters who know the habits of animals well.

Appearance

Elk is a mammal of the deer family, has a body length of up to three meters, a height at the withers of more than two meters, and weighs 350-600 kg. Quite long legs with large hooves connected by movable membranes help them move over uneven terrain: swamps, windfalls. Hooves also serve to protect against predatory animals and other enemies. A blow from such a leg is very dangerous for a person.

It has powerful horns that are widened like a shovel and divided into parts at the ends. Young males have smaller horns; with age they increase and in an adult animal they can reach 20 kilograms in weight. Antlers grow annually, starting in spring, and by winter the elk sheds them. Females do not have horns. Due to its resemblance to the agricultural implement plow, the moose is called elk.

Compared to the long legs and large muzzle, the body seems short, as does the neck. The chest is very wide. On the back there is something like a hump in the area of the nape; another hump-like growth of cartilage adorns the muzzle. The eyes are small, dull, the ears are pointed, long and wide. He hears well, but sees worse.

The coat is long, thick, and consists of a thin spine with a fluffy undercoat. There is a dark mane that extends from the back of the head to the neck and chest. The main color of the coat is reddish-brown, lighter in winter than in summer.

Moose nutrition

Moose live throughout almost the entire territory of Russia and are found in the forest zone of Eurasia and North America. It lives in both deciduous and coniferous forests, preferring the former. Although he has more preferred places for each season, this is due to the food supply.

The elk diet includes more than 800 plant species. These are grasses, shrubs, shoots of conifers and deciduous trees, branches. On average, one individual eats up to 5 tons of various food per year. Favorite delicacies are shoots of willow, aspen, rowan, oak, and pine. Loves birch, dandelions in spring, as well as marsh reeds and reeds. The muzzle is equipped with long lips that help it easily break branches. It deftly removes bark from trees with its teeth.

In addition to food, moose need large quantities water.

Autumn-winter migrations depend on the depth of snow cover. When it increases, moose move to less snowy areas, where it is easier to move and get food. If the snow cover does not exceed half a meter in a given area, animals can sedentary image life.

Moose are known to love water: they happily spend time in rivers and lakes, where they escape from midges and heat. Interestingly, moose can eat not only coastal vegetation, but also aquatic vegetation, diving for it and staying under water for up to several minutes.

Moose lifestyle

Moose can be called lazy animals: they are quite sedentary. If most animals spend a lot of time feeding, after which they go to rest, the elk alternates all this. He will feed for a couple of hours, lie down for the same amount of time, and then eat again. It doesn’t matter where he lies down; he doesn’t choose a place: he can sink into a swamp or onto hard ground. It does not like to leave its feeding areas, if everything is in order, no one disturbs it, it can live on several hectares for two to three weeks. A kilometer or two passes in a day, although in winter it’s more. However, in case of danger or during the rut, it can cover up to 30 km per day.

By nature, this animal is not particularly cautious, self-confident, and not timid. The animal is considered somewhat clumsy: it often goes straight through the forest, because its powerful body allows it. When running away, the elk does not immediately start running, preferring to walk. Given the long legs, even this method of movement is quite fast.

Moose in nature stay alone, sometimes in small groups. Most often this is a female and her small or grown elk calves that follow the mother. Surprisingly, moose calves grow very quickly, outstripping even domestic animals: the daily weight gain can be one and a half to two kilograms. Yes, when good conditions The weight of the animal can be:

at birth – 8-10 kg;
at 6 months – 150-170 kg;
at 1.5 years – 300 kg.

In captivity, the life expectancy of an elk can be 25 years, but in natural conditions the maximum age is 15 years; on average, in the wild, elk live 10-12 years.

Natural enemies are wolves, lynxes, wolverines, and bears. Wolverine and the lynx, although smaller than the moose, defeat him thanks to a sudden attack from above from behind: they immediately bite the carotid artery. Wolves usually overpower moose in winter, when the latter are weakened. And of course, the number of wolves is reduced by the people who hunt them.

Reproduction in moose

The time when moose lose their regularity and calmness is the rut. It usually occurs in late summer - early autumn. Lasts about two months. Males during this period are very nervous, irritated, and restless. Better for people Don't meet them at this time. You can often hear the voice of a moose. In general, he rarely screams, low and very loud. However, during the rut, the voice of the elk resembles the sounds made by a red deer, only the mighty beast cries intermittently. This is how the male calls his rivals to fight. The contractions can be very fierce, sometimes the horns suffer. Older deer often do not allow young animals to approach females at all. This happens in areas where there are more moose than moose cows. And the more unequal the ratio, the stronger the rivalry.

Sometimes, on the contrary, there are fewer males, since they more often die from hunters’ shots. Then the elk can walk with several moose cows during one rut. Moreover, these animals are prone to monogamy, that is, the male may well spend time with one girlfriend. If he covers several, then he spends a week or two with each one. Before this, the elk calmly and politely courtes, without aggression or pressure, waiting for her friend to respond favorably. However, towards people, especially if moose often meet with them and are not afraid, they can be so aggressive that they even attack.

Females carry their young for about 37 weeks. During the first birth, they usually bring one baby, and then two, often of different sexes. The birth of triplets is also common. Babies are born in April. Like most ungulates, they immediately try to get to their feet as soon as their mother licks them. At first they walk unsteadily, the moose pushes and supports them with her muzzle. After three or four days, the offspring quite successfully runs after the mother. It is interesting that moose calves feed on milk for a long time, until the next estrus. If we take into account that the cubs grow quickly, then by the end of summer they already have to lie down on the ground in order to get to the coveted udder.

Young moose reach full maturity at two years.