THE MOOSE

The moose (North America) or Eurasian 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 dendritic ("twig-like") configuration. Moose typically inhabit boreal and mixed deciduous forests of the Northern Hemisphere in temperate to subarctic climates. Moose used to have a much wider range but hunting and other human activities greatly reduced it over the years. Moose have been reintroduced to some of their former habitats. Currently, most moose are found in Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia and Russia. Their diet consists of both terrestrial and aquatic vegetation. The most common moose predators are wolves, bears, and humans. Unlike most other deer species, moose are solitary animals and do not form herds. Although generally slow-moving and sedentary, moose can become aggressive and move surprisingly quickly if angered or startled. Their mating season in the autumn can lead to spectacular fights between males competing for a female.

Moose
Male (bull)

Female (cow)

Etymology and naming

Moose skull.

This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (June 2014)

The animal bearing the scientific name Alces alces is known in Britain as the "elk"^[2] and in North America as the "moose".
The British English word "elk" has cognates in other Indo-European languages, for example elg in Danish / Norwegian; älg in Swedish; Elch in German; and łoś in Polish (Latin alcē or alcēs and Greek ἅλκη álkē are probably Germanic loanwords).^[3] Confusingly, the word "elk" is used in North America to refer to a different animal, Cervus canadensis (which may also be called "wapiti"), which is a similar though slightly smaller species (the second-largest deer species). That animal is very similar to the red deer of central and western Europe, though it is distinctly different behaviorally and genetically. Presumably,^{[original research?]} early European explorers in North America called the Cervus species "elk" because of its size and, as people 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 back in Europe, absent there during the 17th and 18th centuries.
In other words, this large animal, Alces alces, is always called a "moose" in North America but usually called an "elk" in British English.^{[dubious – discuss]} That same word "elk", as used by a North American, means a completely different and only somewhat related animal, Cervus canadensis (wapiti). Most speakers of British English tend to be unfamiliar with Cervus canadensis and use only the scientific, Latin name to refer specifically to it. It is impossible to know whether a speaker means Cervus canadensis or a moose when they say the word "elk" unless context or knowledge of the speaker offer clues to the style of English they are using.
The word "moose" first entered English by 1606,^[4] and is borrowed from Algonquian languages (compare the Narragansett moos and Eastern Abenaki mos; according to early sources, these were likely derived from moosu, meaning "he strips off"),^[5] and possibly involved forms from multiple languages mutually reinforcing one another. The Proto-Algonquian form was *mo·swa.^[6]
A mature male moose is referred to as a bull; a mature female moose is a cow; and an immature moose of either sex is a calf.

Habitat, range, and distribution

North America

Bull and cow moose, Alberta

Cow moose, Alberta

Moose calf

After expanding for most of the 20th century, the moose population of North America has been in steep decline since the 1990s. Populations expanded greatly with improved habitat and protection, but for unknown reasons, the moose population is declining rapidly.^[7] In North America, the moose range includes almost all of Canada (excluding the arctic and Vancouver Island), most of Alaska, northern New England and upstate New York, the upper Rocky Mountains, northern Minnesota, Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and Isle Royale in Lake Superior. This massive range, containing diverse habitats, contains four of the six North American subspecies. In the West, 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 Lake Wenatchee area of the Washington Cascades.^[8][9] The range includes Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and smaller areas of Washington and Oregon.^[10] 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 history is very well documented: moose meat was often a staple in the diet of Native Americans going back centuries, and it is a tribe that occupied present day coastal Rhode Island that gave this deer its distinctive name in American English. The Native Americans often used moose hides for leather and its meat as an ingredient in pemmican, a type of dried jerky used as a source of sustenance in winter or on long journeys.^[11] Eastern tribes also valued moose leather as a source for moccasins and other decorations.
The historical range of the subspecies 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. The moose has been extinct in much of the eastern U.S. for as long as 150 years, due to colonial era overhunting and destruction of its habitat: Dutch, French, and British colonial sources all attest to its presence in the mid 17th century from Maine south to areas within a hundred miles of present day Manhattan. However, by the 1870s, only a handful of moose existed in this entire region in very remote pockets of forest; less than 20% of suitable habitat remained.^[12]
Since the 1980s, however, moose populations have rebounded, thanks to regrowth of plentiful food sources,^[12] abandonment of farmland, better land management, cleanup of pollution, and natural dispersal from the Canadian Maritimes and Quebec. South of the Canadian border Maine has most of the population with a 2012 headcount of about 76,000 moose.^[13] Dispersals from Maine over the years have resulted in healthy, growing populations each in Vermont and New Hampshire, notably near bodies of water and as high up as 3,000 feet above sea level in the mountains. In turn dispersals from northern New England have resulted in a growing population of roughly 1,000 plus moose in Massachusetts, where it has been absent since the early 18th century.^[14] Moose reestablished populations in eastern New York and Connecticut and appeared headed south towards the Catskill Mountains a former habitat.^{[15][16][17][18][19][20][21]}
In the Midwest U.S., moose are primarily limited to the upper Great Lakes region, but strays, primarily immature males, have been found as far south as eastern Iowa.^[22] For unknown reasons, the moose population is declining rapidly in the Midwest.^[7]
Moose were successfully introduced on Newfoundland in 1878 and 1904,^[23] where they are now the dominant ungulate, and somewhat less successfully on Anticosti Island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Decline in population

Since the 1990s, moose populations have declined dramatically in virtually every part of North America. The exact cause of the die off is not determined, but appears to be a combination of factors, from change in habitat and heat stress caused by global warming, liver flukes, brain worms, unregulated hunting, the reintroduction of wolves, and Moose winter tick infestations.^[7][24]

Europe and Asia

Staged picture of a moose hunt in Norway, date unknown.

Distribution of East-Asian subspecies

Chukotka Moose (A. a. burulini)

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, Belarus and northern Ukraine. They are also widespread through Russia on up through the borders with Finland south towards the border with Estonia, Belarus and Ukraine and stretching far away eastwards to the Yenisei River in Siberia. The European moose was native to most temperate areas with suitable habitat on the continent and even Scotland from the end of the last Ice Age, as Europe had a mix of temperate boreal and deciduous forest. Up through Classical times, the species 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 disappeared: soon after the reign of Charlemagne, the moose disappeared from France, where its range extended from Normandy in the north to the Pyrenees in the south. Farther west, it survived in Alsace and the Netherlands until the 9th century as the marshlands in the latter were drained and the forests were cleared away for feudal lands in the former. It was gone from Switzerland by the year 1000, gone from the western Czech Republic by 1300, gone from Mecklenburg in Germany by c. 1600, and has been gone from Hungary and the Caucasus since the 18th and 19th century, respectively.
By the early 20th century, the very last strongholds of the European moose appeared to be in Scandinavian countries and patchy tracts of Russia, with a few migrants found in what is now Estonia and Lithuania. 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 the ability to reintroduce it 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, Kampinos, and in Białowieża Forest. It has migrated into other parts of Eastern Europe and has been spotted in eastern and southern Germany.^[25][26] Unsuccessful thus far in recolonizing these areas via natural dispersal from source populations in Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Czech Republic and Slovakia, it appears to be having more success migrating south into the Caucasus. It is listed under Appendix III of the Bern Convention.^[27][28]
In 2008, two moose were reintroduced into the Scottish Highlands^[29][30] in Alladale Wilderness Reserve.^[31]
The East Asian moose populations confine themselves mostly to the territory of the Russian Federation, with much smaller populations in Mongolia and Northeastern China. Moose populations are relatively stable in Siberia and increasing on the Kamchatka peninsula. In Mongolia and China, where poaching took a great toll on moose, forcing them to near extinction, they are protected, but enforcement of the policy is weak and demand for traditional medicines derived from deer parts is high.^{[32][unreliable source?]} In 1978, the Regional Hunting Department transported 45 young moose to the center of Kamchatka. These moose were brought from Chukotka, home to the largest moose on the planet. Kamchatka now regularly is responsible for the largest trophy moose shot around the world each season. As it is a fertile environment for moose, with a milder climate, less snow, and an abundance of food, moose quickly bred and settled along the valley of the Kamchatka River and many surrounding regions. The population in the past 20 years has risen to over 2900 animals.
The size of the moose varies. Following Bergmann's rule, population in the south (A. a. cameloides) usually grow smaller, while moose in the north and northeast (A. a. burulini) can match the imposing sizes of the Alaskan moose (A. a. gigas) and are prized by trophy hunters.^{[33][unreliable source?]}

 

 

New Zealand

In 1900, an attempt to introduce moose into the Hokitika area failed; then in 1910 ten moose, four bulls and six cows, were introduced into Fiordland. This area is considered a less than suitable habitat, and subsequent low numbers of sightings and kills have led to some presumption of this population's failure.^[34] The last proven sighting of a moose in New Zealand was in 1952.^[35] However, a moose antler was found in 1972 and DNA tests showed that hair collected in 2002 was from a moose. There has been extensive searching, and while automated cameras failed to capture photographs, evidence was seen of bedding spots, browsing and antler marks.^[36]

Populations

North America:

• In Canada : There are an estimated 500,000 to 1,000,000 moose ^[37] with 150,000 in Newfoundland in 2007 descended from just four that were introduced in the 1900s.^[38]

• In United States : probably around 300,000, as follows:
  • Alaska: The state's Department of Fish and Game estimated 200,000 in 2011.^[39]
  • Northeast: A wildlife ecologist estimated 50,000 in New York State and New England in 2007, with expansion expected.^[40]
  • Rocky Mountain states: Wyoming is said to have the largest share in its 6-state region, and its Fish and Game Commission estimated 7,692 in 2009.^[41]
  • Upper Midwest: Michigan estimated 433 (in its Upper Peninsula) in 2011,^[42] Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources 20-40 (close to its UP border with Michigan) in 2003, Minnesota 5600 in its northeast in 2010,^[43] and under 100 in its northwest in 2009;^[44] North Dakota closed, due to low moose population, one of its moose-hunting (geographic) units in 2011, and issued 162 single-kill licenses to hunters, each restricted to one of the remaining nine units.^[45]

Europe and Asia:

• Finland : In 2009, there was a summer population of 115,000 moose.^[46]

• Norway : In 2007, there were some 120,000 moose.^{[citation needed]}

• Estonia : 13,260 individuals^[47]

• Poland : 2,800 individuals^[48]

• Czech Republic : maximum of 50 animals^[48]

• Russia : In 2008, there were approximately 730,000 moose.^{[citation needed]}

• Sweden : Summer population is estimated to be 300,000–400,000 moose. Around 100,000 are shot each fall.^[49][50]

Subspecies

Eurasian Elk	A. a. alces	Finland, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, and Russia. No longer present in central and western Europe except for Poland, Lithuania and Belarus, with a certain population in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and northern Ukraine, but can be observed in Bohemia since the 1970s and a tiny reintroduced population in Scotland, Great Britain, recently sighted in eastern Germany. (Range formerly included France, Switzerland, and Benelux nations.) Population increasing and regaining territory.
Yakutia Moose, or the Mid-Siberian/Lena Moose[51]	A. a. pfizenmayeri	Eastern Siberia, Mongolia, and Manchuria. Mostly found in forests of eastern Russia. The most common moose in Asia. Its ranging goes from the Yenisey River in the west and most of Siberia. Range excludes the ranges of the Chukotka and Amur Moose to the east and Northern Mongolia. Similar in size to the Western Moose of Canada.
Ussurian or Amur Moose[51]	A. a. cameloides	Ranges from Amur-Ussuri region of far eastern Russia, as well as the North Eastern part of China. Amur moose are different from other moose in that their antler size is much smaller, or lack any at all. Even adult bulls antlers are small and cervine with little palmation. It is the smallest moose sub-specie in Asia and the world, with the biggest males standing only 5 and half to 6 feet at the shoulder and weigh between 450 and 700 pounds.
Chukotka Moose or East Siberian moose[51]	A. a. burulini	Ranges from Northeastern Siberia from the Alazeya River basin east to the Kolyma and Anadyr basins and south through the Koryak range and Kamchatka Peninsula. Largest moose in Europe and Asia. Matches, and maybe even surpasses, the Alaskan moose (A. a. gigas), as the largest of the deer species. Bulls can grow up to 7 feet tall and weigh between 1100 and 1600 pounds; females are smaller.
Eastern Moose	A. a. americana	Eastern Canada, including eastern Ontario, all of Quebec, and the Atlantic Provinces. Northeastern United States including Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and northern New York State near the Adirondack Mountains. Population increasing. Females weigh an average of 270 kg, males 365 kg and each stand approx. 2 m at the shoulder.
Western Moose	A. a. andersoni	British Columbia to western Ontario, eastern Yukon, Northwest Territories, southwestern Nunavut, Michigan (Upper Peninsula), northern Wisconsin, northern Minnesota, and northeastern North Dakota.
Alaska Moose	A. a. gigas	Alaska and western Yukon. The largest subspecies in North America.
Shiras Moose	A. a. shirasi	Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Montana.[52] Smallest subspecies in North America.
† Caucasian Moose	A. a. caucasicus	Caucasus Mountains. Extinct due to loss of habitat and overhunting. Range would have included Iran, Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey.

Biology and behavior

Diet

Bark stripping

Bull moose eating a fireweed plant

Bull moose browses a beaver pond near the Grand Tetons

The moose is a herbivore and is capable of consuming many types of plant or fruit. The average adult moose needs to consume 9,770 kcal (40.9 MJ) per day to maintain its body weight.^[53] 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 plant life.^[54] As an adaptation for feeding on plants under water, the nose is equipped with fatty pads and muscles that closes the nostrils when exposed to water pressure, preventing water from entering the nose.^[55] In winter, moose are often drawn to roadways, to lick salt that is used as a snow and ice melter.^[56] A typical moose, weighing 360 kg (790 lb), can eat up to 32 kg (71 lb) of food per day.^[54]
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 large, flat molars and, ahead of those, six pairs of premolars, to grind up their food. A moose's upper lip is very sensitive, to help distinguish between fresh shoots and harder twigs, and the lip is prehensile, for grasping their food. In the summer, moose may use this prehensile lip for grabbing branches and pulling, stripping the entire branch of leaves in a single mouthful, or for pulling forbs, like dandelions, or aquatic plants up by the base, roots and all.^[57][58]
A moose's diet often depends on its location, but they seem to prefer the new growths from deciduous trees such as white birch, trembling aspen and striped maple, among many others. Many aquatic plants include lilies and pondweed.^[59] Moose are excellent swimmers and are known to wade into water to eat aquatic plants. 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. Moose have been known to dive underwater to reach plants on lake bottoms, and the complex snout may assist the moose in this type of feeding. Moose are the only deer that are capable of feeding underwater.^[60]

Growing antlers are covered with soft furry skin called "velvet". Blood vessels in the velvet transport nutrients to support antler growth.

Antlers

Bull moose have antlers like other members of the deer family. Cows select mates based on antler size. Bull moose use dominant displays of antlers to discourage competition and will spar or fight rivals.^[61] The size and growth rate of antlers is determined by diet and age; symmetry reflects health.^[61]
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. Moose antlers are broad and palmate (flat) with tines (points) along the outer edge.^[61] The antlers of mature Alaskan adult bull moose (5 to 12 years old) have a normal maximum spread greater than 200 centimetres (79 in). By the age of 13, moose antlers decline in size and symmetry. The widest spread recorded was 210 centimetres (83 in) across. (An Alaskan moose also holds the record for the heaviest weight at 36 kilograms (79 lb)).^[61]
Antler beam diameter, not the number of tines, indicates age.^[61] In North America moose (A. a. americanus) antlers are usually larger than those of Eurasian moose and have two lobes on each side, like a butterfly. Eurasian moose antlers resemble a seashell, with a single lobe on each side.^[61] In the North Siberian moose (A. a. bedfordiae), the posterior division of the main fork divides into three tines, with no distinct flattening. In the common moose (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 moose 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 than in the typical Scandinavian moose.

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

After the mating season males drop their antlers to 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. Antler growth is "nourished by an extensive system of blood vessels in the skin covering, which contains numerous hair follicles that give it a 'velvet' texture."^[61] This requires intense grazing on a highly-nutritious diet. By September the velvet is removed by rubbing and thrashing which changes the colour of the antlers. Immature bulls may not shed their antlers for the winter, but retain them until the following spring. Birds, carnivores and rodents eat dropped antlers as they are full of protein and moose themselves will eat antler velvet for the nutrients.^[61]
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.^[62]
In extremely rare circumstances, a cow moose may grow antlers. This is usually attributed to a hormone imbalance.^[63]

Size and weight

Crossing a river.

On average, an adult moose stands 1.4–2.1 m (4.6–6.9 ft) high at the shoulder, which is more than a foot higher than the next largest deer on average, the Elk.^[64] Males (or "bulls") weigh 380–700 kg (840–1,540 lb) and females (or "cows") typically weigh 200–360 kg (440–790 lb).^[65] The head-and-body length is 2.4–3.2 m (7.9–10.5 ft), with the vestigial tail adding only a further 5–12 cm (2.0–4.7 in).^[66] The largest of all the races 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.^[67] Typically, however, the antlers of a mature bull 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 that weighed 820 kg (1,800 lb) and measured 2.33 m (7.6 ft) high at the shoulder.^[68] There have been reported cases of even larger moose, including a bull that reportedly scaled 1,180 kg (2,600 lb), but none are authenticated and may not be considered reliable.^[68] Behind only the bison, the moose is the second largest land animal in both North America and Europe.

Social structure and reproduction

Moose are mostly diurnal. They are generally solitary with the strongest bonds between mother and calf. Although moose rarely gather in groups, there may be several in close proximity during the mating season.
Mating occurs in September and October. The males are polygamous and will seek several females to breed with. During this time 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.^[69] 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,^[70] in May or June.^[71] 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. The life span of an average moose is about 15–25 years.

• 

  (newborn)
  Calves nursing in spring.
• 

  (3 months)
  Calves stay near their mothers at all times.
• 

  (9 months)
  This calf almost ready to leave its mother.
• 

  (10–11 months)
  This yearling probably recently chased away by its mother.

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. In the Americas, moose injure more people than any other wild mammal and, worldwide, only hippopotamuses injure more.^[72] 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. 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.^[73]

A bull moose, annoyed by the photographer, lowers its head and raises its hackles.

Like any wild animal, moose are unpredictable and should be given a respectful amount of space. They are most likely to attack if annoyed or harassed, or if their "personal space" has been encroached upon. Moose that have been harassed may vent their anger on unwary victims, and often do not make distinctions between their tormentors and innocent passers-by.^[74] Moose are very limber animals with highly flexible joints and sharp, pointed hooves, and are capable of kicking with both front and back legs. Unlike other large, hooved mammals, such as horses, moose can kick in all directions including sideways. Therefore, there is no safe side from which to approach. However, moose often give warning signs prior to attacking, displaying their aggression by means of body language. The maintaining of eye contact is usually the first sign of aggression, while laid-back ears or a lowered head is a definite sign of agitation. If the hairs on the back of the moose's neck and shoulders (hackles) stand up, a charge is usually imminent. The Anchorage Visitor Centers warn tourists that "...a moose with its hackles raised is a thing to fear."^{[75][76][77][78]}
Studies suggest that the calls made by female moose during the rut not only call the males but can actually induce a bull to invade another bull's harem and fight for control of it. This in turn means that the cow moose has at least a small degree of control over which bulls she mates with.^[79]
Moose often show aggression to other animals as well; especially predators. Bears are common predators of moose calves and, rarely, adults. Alaskan moose have been reported to successfully fend off attacks from black bears, brown bears and grizzlies. Moose have been known to stomp attacking wolves, which makes them less preferred as prey to the wolves. Moose are fully capable of killing bears and wolves. A moose of either sex that is confronted by danger may let out a loud roar, more resembling that of a predator than a prey animal. European moose are often more aggressive than North American moose, such as the moose in Sweden, which often become very agitated at the sight of a predator. However, like all ungulates known to attack predators, the more aggressive individuals are always darker in color.^[60]

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 Frederic Shoberl, 1834.

A full-grown moose has few enemies, but a pack of wolves can still pose a threat, especially to females with calves.^[80] Siberian Tigers^[81] and brown bear^[67] 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.^[82] American black bears and cougars can be significant predators of moose calves in May and June and can, in rare instances, predate adults (mainly cows).^[83][84] Wolverine are most likely to eat moose as carrion but have killed moose, including adults, when the large ungulates are weakened by harsh winter conditions.^[85] 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.^[86]
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 1,310 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.^[87] 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 seldom killed by wolves.^[88] Though moose are usually hunted by packs, there are cases in which single wolves have successfully killed healthy, fully-grown moose.^[89][90]
Research into moose predation suggests that their response to perceived threats is learned rather than instinctual. In practical terms this means moose are more vulnerable in areas where wolf or bear populations were decimated in the past but are now rebounding. These same studies suggest, however, that moose learn quickly and adapt, fleeing an area if they hear or smell wolves, bears, or scavenger birds such as ravens.^[91]
Moose are also subject to various diseases and forms of parasitism. In northern Europe, the moose botfly is a parasite whose range seems to be spreading.^[92]

Relationship with humans

History

Moose and reflection, Grand Teton National Park.

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 moose antlers in wooden hut remains from 6000 BCE, indicating some of the earliest moose hunting in northern Europe. In northern Scandinavia one can still find remains of trapping pits used for hunting moose. 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 moose to escape once it fell in. The pits are normally found in large groups, crossing the moose's regular paths and stretching over several kilometers. 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 moose is in Julius Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico, where it is described thus:

There are also [animals], which are called moose. The shape of these, and the varied color 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.^[93]

Long legs allow moose 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 moose, 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 moose, 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.^[94]

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 those of other comparable red meats (e.g. beef, deer and elk), it has a low fat content, and the fat that is present consists of a higher proportion of polyunsaturated fats rather than saturated fats.^[95]
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.^[96] 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.^[97]
Dr. Valerius Geist, who emigrated to Canada from the Soviet Union, wrote in his 1999 book Moose: Behaviour, Ecology, Conservation:

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.

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".^[98] 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.^[99]

Vehicle collisions

Norwegian road sign.

Moose (A. a. gigas) crossing a road in Alaska.

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 fall onto the car's hood and delivering the bulk of the animal's weight into the windshield, crushing the front roof support beams and anyone in the front seats.^[100] Collisions of this type are frequently lethal; seatbelts offer no protection, and airbags may not deploy or be of much use if they do.^[101] Although vehicles with higher clearances (such as trucks) are typically immune from this effect, the force of striking any 270+ kg (600+ pound) 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).

Kalifornsky 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.

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.^[102]
In January 2008, the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten estimated 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.^[103]
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, as has long been done in Finland, Norway, and Sweden. A demonstration project, 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.^[104][105] Newfoundland and Labrador recommended that motorists use caution between dusk and dawn because that is when moose are most active and most difficult to see, increasing the risk of collisions.^[106] Local moose sightings are often reported on radio stations so that motorists can take care while driving in particular areas.
In Sweden, a road will not be fenced unless it experiences at least one moose accident per kilometer per year.^[107]
In eastern Germany, where the scarce population is slowly increasing, there were two road accidents involving moose since 2000.^[27]

Domestication

Moose kept as pack animals, Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve, December 1952

Domestication of elks was investigated in the Soviet Union before World War II. Early experiments were inconclusive, but with the creation of an elk-farm at Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve in 1949 a small-scale elk domestication program was started, involving attempts at selective breeding of animals on the basis of their behavioural characteristics. Since 1963, the programme has continued at Kostroma Moose Farm, which had a herd of 33 tame elk 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 elk 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 elk, 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 elk as a domestic animal. Among other things, the elk 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 elk that was deregulated in the 1790s nearly drove it to extinction. While there has been documented cases of individual elks being used for riding and/or pulling carts and sleds, Björklöf concludes no wide-scale usage has occurred outside fairytales.^[108]

Paleontology

An artist's rendition of Libralces gallicus.

Moose are an old genus. Like its relatives, Odocoileus and Capreolus, the genus Alces gave rise to very few species that endured for long periods of time. This differs from the Megacerines, such as the Irish elk, which evolved many species before going extinct. Some scientists, such as Adrian Lister, grouped all the species into one genus, while others, such as Augusto Azzaroli, used Alces for the living species, placing the fossil species into the genera Cervalces and Libralces.
The earliest known species is Libralces gallicus (French moose), which lived in the Pliocene epoch, about 2 million years ago. Libralces gallicus came from the warm savannahs of Pliocene Europe, with the best preserved skeletons being found in southern France. L. gallicus was 1.25 times larger than the Alaskan moose in linear dimensions, making it nearly twice as massive. L. gallicus had many striking differences from its modern descendants. It had a longer, narrower snout and a less-developed nasal cavity, more resembling that of a modern deer, lacking any sign of the modern moose-snout. Its face resembled that of the modern wapiti. However, the rest of its skull structure, skeletal structure and teeth bore strong resemblance to those features that are unmistakable in modern moose, indicating a similar diet. Its antlers consisted of a horizontal bar 2-1/2 meters long, with no tines, ending in small palmations. Its skull and neck structure suggest an animal that fought using high-speed impacts, much like the Dall sheep, rather than locking and twisting antlers the way modern moose combat. Their long legs and bone structure suggest an animal that was adapted to running at high speeds over rough terrain.^[109][110]
Libralces existed until the middle Pleistocene epoch and were followed briefly by a species called Cervalces carnutorum. The main differences between the two consisted of shortening of the horizontal bar in the antlers and broadening of the palmations, indicating a likely change from open plains to more forested environments, and skeletal changes that suggest an adaptation to marshy environments.
Cervalces carnutorum was soon followed by a much larger species called Cervalces latifrons (broad-fronted stag-moose). The Pleistocene epoch was a time of gigantism, in which most species were much larger than their descendants of today, including exceptionally large lions, hippopotamuses, mammoths, and deer. Many fossils of Cervalces latifrons have been found in Siberia, dating from about 1.2 to 0.5 million years ago. This is most likely the time at which the species migrated from the Eurasian continent to North America. Like its descendants, it inhabited mostly northern latitudes, and was probably well-adapted to the cold. Cervalces latifrons was the largest deer known to have ever existed, standing more than 2.1 meters tall at the shoulders. This is bigger than even the Irish elk (moose), which was 1.8 meters tall at the shoulders. Its antlers were smaller than the Irish elk's, but comparable in size to those of Libralces gallicus. However, the antlers had a shorter horizontal bar and larger palmations, more resembling those of a modern moose.^{[109][110][111]}
Alces alces (the modern moose) appeared during the late Pleistocene epoch. The species arrived in North America at the end of the Pleistocene and coexisted with a late-surviving variety or relative of Cervalces latifrons, which Azzaroli classified as a separate species called Cervalces scotti, or the American stag-moose.^[112]