Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
One of the employees at the fishing camp where I was chased by the bull moose told me about a
sight he had witnessed. A big bull that was causing a great commotion across the pond attracted his at-
tention, so he hopped into a boat and went over to observe the show—from a discreet distance, I might
add, for he wasn't stupid. He reported that the moose, evidently frustrated by the absence of any rival
bull with which to quarrel, took out his anger on the surrounding vegetation. It was an awesome display
of power. The bull thrashed his antlers this way and that, on the ground and above it, stamping around
and grunting all the while. Then he began to dig his antlers into the ground and uproot clumps of alders,
tossing them into the air over his head. All in all, it was a bravura performance.
According to those who have witnessed it, a fight between two big bulls is even more spectacular.
Smashing their antlers together, the two leviathans shove back and forth in a test of strength, tearing up
the ground for yards around. If they're evenly matched, this battle for dominance can go on for quite
a few minutes until one of the bulls is convinced that the other is bigger and stronger. Then the van-
quished bull will break away, turn, and flee. The victor is apt to pursue him hotly for a short distance,
often goring his erstwhile foe in the process, but breaks off the chase as soon as he's sure his rival is
well and truly beaten.
Although bull moose are polygamous, they breed far fewer females than does a dominant whitetail
buck. Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that moose, being so much larger than deer, have
a lower population density, and thus would have to travel much greater distances to find so many fe-
males.
One means by which bulls locate cows during the rut is by construction of pits, often called “wal-
lows.” The bull first scrapes out a shallow hollow in the earth, then urinates in it and spreads scent from
glands on his legs. Finally he rolls about in the malodorous affair, liberally coating himself with its
scent. These wallows attract cows by their pungent odor; a bull will have several of these moose equi-
valents of a singles bar scattered about his territory, and will visit them frequently in search of females
in heat. The wallows' aroma that the bull attaches to himself may also attract cows and put them in an
amorous mood.
Not long after the rut is over, moose begin to seek their winter quarters. Both winter quarters and
wintering habits of moose are very different from those of white-tailed deer. Whereas deer tend to
winter in large areas containing many deer, moose spend the cold months in small groups in equally
small pockets of good winter habitat. Two or three moose—rarely as many as six or seven—seek small
groves of softwood trees located near plenty of good hardwood browse. Also, in latitudes where the
ranges of moose and whitetails overlap, moose generally winter at higher elevations than the deer.
Strange as it may seem, moose actually need the shade of the coniferous trees in late winter to pre-
vent them from overheating. No doubt their very dark color acts as a solar collector and contributes to
overheating when the sun's rays grow more direct with the approach of spring.
Most cow moose are bred around the first week of October. With a gestation period of a little under
eight months, that means most calves are born from mid-May to the first of June. About 20 percent of
the yearling cows breed; these almost invariably have a single calf. Likewise, most of the two-year-olds
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