Moose
Alces alces
Description-
This horse-sized animal is the largest member of the
deer family with long, dark brown hair, high, humped
shoulders and long legs. A pendant of hair-covered skin
sometimes reaching 2 feet hangs under the throat. Each
April the male moose or bull grows a set of antlers
reaching 120-150 cm which he loses in the winter after
rutting season.
Distribution - The moose occurs in spruce forests,
swamps, aspen and willow thickets; it is built to live
in rough country and is well adapted to a cold climate.
It can be found throughout most of B.C.
Biology - The rut lasts from early September to
late October and 8 months later 1-2 calves are born.
Moose are unpredictable and sometimes dangerous; although
they generally avoid human contact, cows with calves
and rutting bulls have been known to charge people,
cars, horses and locomotives.
Tracks
- The moose track is slightly larger and more pointed
than that of the elk and similar in shape to a deer's
but twice as large. The track may be blunted if the
ground is rocky and hard, making it more difficult to
distinguish from the elks. A typical print is of two
pointed pear shapes with the tips closer than the wider
bottom.
Straddle: 23 - 26 cm (9.2 - 10.4 in)
Stride: 60 - 85 cm (24 - 34 in)
Track: 16 cm (6.4 in) / 14 cm (5.6 in)
