How many kilograms a moose grows. How much does elk weigh, depending on the region? Natural enemies of the moose

Elk occupied a special position in the culture of people since ancient times. He was considered the master of the forest, and some peoples even worshiped him.

It is currently a commercial mammal. Moose hunting season opens annually, which attracts many hunters.

Habitat

The total moose population numbers over 1.5 million individuals. Most of of them lives in Russia. Also big number animals lives in Eastern and Western Europe.

In the period from the 18th to the 19th century, the population here was completely exterminated, but later it was possible to restore it thanks to protective measures, such as:

• Hunting ban;
• Rejuvenation of forests;
• Regulation of the number of natural predators. For moose, wolves are the most dangerous.

Elk are also found in Mongolia and northeastern China. In the American Continent, moose settled in Alaska, as well as northern and eastern regions USA.

Most of all, moose love mixed forests, rarely live in open spaces. They can often be found in birch and pine forests. Often animals choose places near lakes or rivers.

This is especially true in the summer, because you need to save yourself from the heat. In winter, moose move to coniferous forests, but try to avoid deep snowdrifts. They can stay in one place if the snow depth does not exceed 0.5 meters.

During this period, it is rather difficult to determine where the elk live, since the herd can start moving in the end of autumn and return back only with the onset of warmth. They can walk about 15 km per day.

It is interesting that the first to leave the "camp" are the females with the calves, and only then the males follow them.

Physiological features

Moose is a very large species of mammals. Their weight reaches 6 hundred kilograms, with a body length of up to 3 meters and a height of up to 2.5 meters. However, males possess such parameters, females are much smaller.

Males have very large horns, they can weigh up to 30 kg, and their width can be about 2 meters. Every autumn the horns are shed and during the cold season they grow back.

In addition, the number of branches on the horns indicates the age of the animal. In various photos, moose look different from other deer. This applies in particular to males - they are much larger and more powerful.

Despite the fact that female moose do not look as presentable as males, they are quite popular with the opposite sex. Females have long legs, a hunched back, and a large upper lip.

The animal has excellent hearing and sense of smell, due to which the moose feels great in the forest, but they have poor eyesight. So, they may not notice a stationary object from a distance of 25 meters. Animals swim quite well, so they escape from heat, midges and hunger.

Moose are not conflicted, if there is an opportunity to escape, they will not fight.

However, during a fight, they will wield not with their horns, but with their front paws. Despite the fact that the animal has a large mass, its blows are very strong.

What do moose eat?

The main diet of moose is vegetation. These are mainly mosses, mushrooms and lichens. In pictures of moose, you can never see the animal eating grass. They simply cannot reach her because of their high growth and short neck. Also, animals are not averse to profiting from leaves from different trees and shrubs.

Elks "gnaw" the foliage from the branches, holding them with their big lips. They can also feed on aquatic plants, dipping their heads into the reservoir.

In autumn, when the foliage falls off, the moose eat the bark of the trees. In the summer, they can eat very densely, eating about 30 kg of food per day, in winter this figure drops by half.

They can eat up to 7 tons of vegetation per year. They also need salt to feed them, they can lick it off the roads or come to salt licks that the huntsmen make for them.

How long do moose live?

Under favorable conditions, moose have a lifespan of about 25 years. However, in the harsh conditions of nature, they live no more than 10-12 years.

This is due to the heavy weather and predators that can exterminate sick, old and very young animals. A person also puts his hand to the destruction of an elk.

As a game animal, the hunting season starts in October and ends in January. Elk meat is used in cooking, it has unique qualities and is very expensive.

Their skins and horns can also be of great value. However, moose are not bred in agricultureas it is too expensive.

Photo of elk

Domain:Eukaryotes

Kingdom:Animals

A type:Chordates

Class:Mammals

Detachment:Artiodactyls

Family:Deer

Genus:Elk (Alces Gray, 1821)

View: Elk

Elk is the largest representative in the Olenev family. He is also the tallest hoofed animal after the giraffe. But if the giraffe reaches this height due to the 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, it was considered an honor to bear the name of Elk.

Sometimes Moose also called a plow because of the shape of the horns, which resemble a plow.

What does a moose look like

Among other deer, the elk stands out sharply for its appearance. First of all, its huge size is striking - the body length can reach 3 m, the height of an elk exceeds 2 m, and its weight is 500-600 kg. The body of the elk is relatively short, but the legs are very long. Muzzle elk also does not look like fellows. The head of the elk is large and heavy, the muzzle is long, the large upper lip hangs slightly over the lower one. The antlers of a moose have a characteristic shape: the base of the antler (trunk) is short, from it forward, to the sides and backward, the processes diverge in a half fan, the trunk is connected to the processes by a flattened part - a "shovel". For this form, the elk received the nickname "moose".

However, the shape of the horns varies among moose from different regions. Their size also depends on the age of the moose: the older the animal, the wider the size of the "shovel" and the more processes on it. In elk, only males wear horns. The coloration of the moose is of the same type - dark brown with a lighter belly and legs.

Moose hooves are very wide compared to other deer. Such a shape of hooves is necessary for animals to move on the viscous soil of swamps, which is not easy for such a giant. Long legs allow the elk to easily move in dense thickets of the forest, along swampy river banks and deep snow.

Moose hair consists of coarser long hairs and a soft undercoat. In winter, the coat grows up to 10 cm in length. On the withers and neck, the hair is longer, in the form of a mane, and reaches 20 cm, which makes it seem that the animal has a hump. The softer hair growing on the head even covers the lips of a mammal, only on the upper lip between the nostrils there is a small bare patch.

Elk are brownish black or black in the upper body, which turns brown in the lower body. The back of the torso, croup and buttocks are the same color as the rest of the body: the so-called tail "mirror" is absent. The lower part of the legs is whitish. In summer, the color of moose is darker than in winter. The length of the animal's tail is 12-13 cm.

Moose species

The elk genus has always been considered to consist of one species - the elk (Latin Alces Alces). Within the species, several American, European and Asian subspecies were distinguished. Thanks to modern advances in genetics, a new classification has been defined, according to which 2 species belong to the genus of moose (lat. Alces): European moose and American moose. The number of subspecies is still undetermined and is likely to change.

1. Alces Alces (Linnaeus, 1758) - European Elk (eastern)
   • Subspecies Alces Alces Alces (Linnaeus, 1758) - European moose
   • Subspecies Alces Alces caucazicus (Vereshchagin, 1955) - Caucasian moose
2. Alces Americanus (Clinton, 1822) - American Elk (western)
   • Subspecies Alces Americanus Americanus (Clinton, 1822) - East Canadian elk
   • Subspecies Alces Americanus Cameloides (Milne-Edwards, 1867) - Ussuri elk

Below is a description of the currently existing elk species.

European Elk (Latin Alces Alces)

In Russia, it is often referred to as elk. The length of an elk reaches 270 cm, and the height at the withers is 220 cm. The European elk weighs up to 600-655 kg. Females are smaller in size. The color of the animal is dark or black-brown, with a black stripe on the back. The end of the muzzle and the legs below are light. The upper lip, belly and inner legs are almost white. In summer, the color is darker. Elk antlers with a well-developed spade, up to 135 cm in span. The European elk lives in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, the European part of Russia, in the Urals, in Western Siberia to the Yenisei and Altai.

Moose (Latin Alces Americanus)

Sometimes this species is called East Siberian. It has a multi-colored color: the upper body and neck are rusty or gray-brown; abdomen, lower sides and upper legs are black. The color is darker in summer, lighter in winter. The weight of an adult moose varies from 300 to 600 kg or more. Body size is about the same as that of Alces Alces. Elk antlers have a wide-split shovel. The anterior process, separated from the spade, branches out. The span of the horns reaches more than 100 cm. The width of the shovel reaches 40 cm. The moose lives in Eastern Siberia, the Far East, Northern Mongolia, and North America.

What do moose eat

AT elk diet includes herbaceous and tree-shrub vegetation, mosses, lichens, mushrooms and berries. Elks eat bark pine trees, willow, birch, aspen, love young raspberry branches. Depending on the time of the year, Elk's lunch is either preferably leaves or aquatic plants: water lilies, horsetails, marigold. Interestingly, the portion of the Elk per day ranges from 10 to 35 kg of feed, and this figure reaches 7 tons per year.

In summer, moose willingly eat grass, mushrooms and even algae. Elks are generally not indifferent to aquatic vegetation; they enjoy visiting reservoirs, where they not only hide from the summer midges, but also graze. For a portion of seaweed, the moose can even dive, although usually a long-legged moose is enough just to bend his neck.

It is interesting! Summer daily ration of moose is 30 kg of plant food, winter - 15 kg. In winter, moose drink little and do not eat snow, keeping their body heat.

Where does the moose live

Elk lives practically throughout the entire territory of the wooded zone of the Northern Hemisphere, it can often be found in the taiga or steppe part.

Concerning natural areas habitat, moose usually settle in coniferous and mixed forests with swamps, quiet rivers and streams; in the forest-tundra - through birch and aspen forests; along the banks of steppe rivers and lakes - in floodplain thickets; in mountain forests - in valleys, on gentle slopes, plateaus. Prongs prefer forests with dense undergrowth, young growth, avoiding tall, monotonous woodlands.

Wetlands are an important part of Elk life, because in the hot season, animals feed on aquatic vegetation and escape from overheating. These animals are found in Poland, the Baltic States, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Belarus, northern Ukraine, Scandinavia, the European part of Russia and the Siberian taiga. About half of the total animal population lives in Russia.

Moose live more or less sedentary and do not move too much. Making small transitions in search of food, they remain within the same area for a long time. In summer, the area where moose live and feed is wider than in winter. From places where the snow cover reaches 70 cm or more in winter, mammals migrate to less snowy areas. This is typical for the regions of the Urals, Siberia, and the Far East. The first to leave are moose cows with moose calves, followed by males and females without offspring. In spring, moose return to their habitats in reverse order.

Currently, the number of Elk, like other ungulates, is declining due to the flourishing of poaching.

Why does a moose shed its antlers?

Usually by the onset of winter, the animal sheds its horns. This is an absolutely painless procedure that brings relief. To get rid of the horns, the elk actively rubs them against the trees, after which the horns fall off. In spring, new horns grow, hardening in July. By the way, only males have horns, while females are deprived of such decoration.

There is an opinion that horns are needed in order for a moose in the forest to defend itself from other animals, but this is not true. The main purpose of the horns is to attract the female to mating season and protecting her from other males. As the mating season passes, the horns become unnecessary. The shedding of horns for winter greatly facilitates wintering - it is easier for the animal to move around and look for shelter.

The immediate cause of horn loss is a decrease in the amount of sex hormones produced in the animal's body. As a result of hormone deficiency at the base of the horns, special cells are activated that can destructively affect bone tissue. It is thanks to their work that the horns weaken significantly, and then completely disappear. The horns of the elk are becoming an important food for forest animals - squirrels, birds and predatory animals eat the protein, which is found in abundance in the horns.

Is moose dangerous for humans

If you are in the forest see moose - freeze and stand still until the animal leaves. During the rut, Elks are quite aggressive, but they will not see a person even a short distance, since they have poorly developed vision... In general, Elks rarely attack first, for this you need to provoke the animal or come too close to the place where the offspring is. Elk is dangerous for motorists, since in a collision with an animal of this size on the road, great damage will be caused to both the car and the animal itself.

Reproduction

Single moose live separately in small groups of up to 4 individuals, females with moose calves sometimes unite in small herds of up to 8 heads. Moose are by nature monogamous, unlike other relatives.

Elk rut takes place in early autumn and is accompanied by a loud, characteristic roar of males. At this time, it is better not to go deep into the forest, as Elks are aggressive and can attack a person.

Also famous Elk fights, where rivals in the struggle for the best female can not only seriously injure themselves, but even die. Elk's pregnancy lasts 225-240 days from April to June. Usually one calf is born, but old experienced females can give birth to twins. The baby has a light red color and can get up a few minutes after birth, and after 3 days he can move freely.

Elk maturity comes at 2 years old, and by 12 they are already aging, although in captivity with good care they live up to 20 years.

Enemies

Elk's first enemy, of course, is a man with a weapon.

Wolves and bears hunt Elk ( brown bear, grizzly). The prey is usually young, sick and old moose. Wolves are practically harmless to healthy adults if they do not attack in large flocks.

It is difficult for a moose to maintain a perimeter defense in open spaces. The picture looks completely different when the Elk is in the thicket. Here he often takes a defensive defense: having covered the rear with some tree or thickets of bushes, the Elk defends itself from attacking blows of its front legs. With this signature blow, the Elk is able to open the skull of a wolf and can easily defend against the bear. Therefore, predators avoid meeting Elk “face to face”.

Why does a moose eat fly agarics?

In Russia and Scandinavia, attempts have been made to domesticate and use moose as a sled and dairy animal, but the complexity of keeping makes this economically impractical. There were 7 moose farms in the USSR, currently there are two - the moose farm of the Pechora-Ilychsky nature reserve in the village of Yaksha and the Sumarokovskaya moose farm in the Kostroma region. These experiments are reflected in the film by A. Zguridi "The Tale of the Forest Giant". Both moose farms are state owned. Excursions are organized on the farms.

There is a practice of domestication of moose. After the first feeding, a wild calf becomes attached to a person for life. Females easily get used to milking. Elk are very hardy animals, they can be harnessed to a sled, and also ridden. They are irreplaceable in swampy taiga, rugged forests, in muddy roads. In summer, they can be used for work only at night, as animals can die from the heat. It is much colder in winter, so there is no such limitation.

What is the difference between an elk and a deer?

Elk and deer are representatives of the same family, which have significant differences between themselves:

• The elk is the largest of the deer family, an adult elk weighs from 300 to 600 kilograms or more, and its height at the withers can reach 2.35 meters. The deer is a smaller animal. Its weight usually does not exceed 200 kg, and its growth reaches 1.5 meters in large species.
• Moose legs are long and thin, widening at the hooves. A deer's legs are shorter and more proportional.
• The antlers of a deer develop vertically, while in an elk they develop horizontally and have a different structure.
• Female moose, like female deer, have no horns. But among deer there is an exception: for example, females reindeer wear horns, and water deer are hornless regardless of gender.
• As a rule, moose live separately, and among the deer there are both solitary animals and herd animals.
• Elk spends a lot of time in the water, which is not typical for many deer. Although, for example, water deer live in swampy areas, they swim well and can swim several kilometers.

The moose is an excellent swimmer and can hold its breath underwater for more than a minute.

From the senses of the Elk, hearing and smell are best developed. Elk's eyesight is weak - motionless standing man he does not see at a distance of a few tens of meters.

In a fight with predators, the Elk uses strong front legs, so even bears sometimes prefer to bypass the Elk. These animals run well thanks to strong and long legs, and can reach speeds of up to 56 km / h.

Elk milkwith which they feed their offspring, contains 5 times more protein than cow, and 3-4 times fatter. Now in Russia there are two moose farms that are engaged in the production of milk used for medicinal purposes, as well as meat and skin.

Long-legged moose calves at first cannot reach the grass and graze on their knees.

Picture of heavenly Elks or Deer were characteristic of many hunting peoples. The constellation Ursa Major in the Russian tradition was called Elk. The peoples of the North have legends about the creation of the Milky Way in the pursuit of Elk hunters, as well as how Elk carried the sun into the heavenly taiga. Sometimes taiga hunters also figuratively imagined the sun as a living creature - a giant Elk, running across the entire sky during the day and plunging into the endless underground sea by night.

Interesting information. did you know that ...

• There are cases when moose attacked trains during the rut, the sound of which was mistaken for the roar of competitors.
• Elk, while running, develops a speed of up to 56 km / h. He also swims well and is able to stay underwater for about 1 minute.
• In the territory of the former USSR, moose are kept in some places as livestock. Elks provide their owners with meat, milk and are used as draft animals.
• The moose has very poor eyesight, but this is compensated by the perfectly developed hearing and sense of smell.
• Throughout its range, the elk forms six to seven subspecies, of which four to five inhabit Eurasia and two - North America.
• In deep snow, the moose feels helpless. This is often used by hunters.

Video

Elk - the noble and mighty master of our forests, even the Bear will not always dare to argue with him.

What is Elk called

Sometimes Moose also called a plow because of the shape of the horns, which resemble a plow.

What does a moose look like

Elk it is not for nothing that it is considered one of the largest animals, since males often reach sizes of about 3 meters in length and 2.5 meters in height, and weigh up to 600 kg. Distinctive feature The elk are its beautiful broad antlers, which have an average of 18 tines.

Researchers have about 7 subspecies of Elk, which differ in size and structure of the horns.

What do moose eat

AT elk diet includes herbaceous and tree-shrub vegetation, mosses, lichens, mushrooms and berries. Elks eat bark pine trees, willow, birch, aspen, love young raspberry branches. Depending on the time of the year, Elk's lunch is either preferably leaves or aquatic plants: water lilies, horsetails, marigold. Interestingly, the portion of the Elk per day ranges from 10 to 35 kg of feed, and this figure reaches 7 tons per year.

Where does Elk live

Elk lives practically throughout the entire territory of the wooded zone of the Northern Hemisphere, it can often be found in the taiga or steppe part.

Wetlands are an important part of Elk life, because in the hot season, animals feed on aquatic vegetation and escape from overheating. These animals are found in Poland, the Baltic States, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Belarus, northern Ukraine, Scandinavia, the European part of Russia and the Siberian taiga. About half of the total animal population lives in Russia.

Currently, the number of Elk, like other ungulates, is declining due to the flourishing of poaching.

Are moose dangerous for humans

If you are in the forest see moose - freeze and stand still until the animal leaves. During the rut, Elks are quite aggressive, but they will not see a person even a short distance, since they have poorly developed vision... In general, Elks rarely attack first, for this you need to provoke the animal or come too close to the place where the offspring is. Elk is dangerous for motorists, since in a collision with an animal of this size on the road, great damage will be caused to both the car and the animal itself.

Elk breeding

Single moose live separately in small groups of up to 4 individuals, females with moose calves sometimes unite in small herds of up to 8 heads. Moose are by nature monogamous, unlike other relatives.

Elk rut takes place in early autumn and is accompanied by a loud, characteristic roar of males. At this time, it is better not to go deep into the forest, as Elks are aggressive and can attack a person.

Also famous Elk fights, where rivals in the struggle for the best female can not only seriously injure themselves, but even die. Elk's pregnancy lasts 225-240 days from April to June. Usually one calf is born, but old experienced females can give birth to twins. The baby has a light red color and can get up a few minutes after birth, and after 3 days he can move freely.

Elk maturity comes at 2 years old, and by 12 they are already aging, although in captivity with good care they live up to 20 years.

Elk enemies

The first enemy of Elk, of course, a man with a weapon.

Elk are hunted wolves and bears (brown bear, grizzly). The prey is usually young, sick and old moose. Wolves are practically harmless to healthy adults if they do not attack in large flocks.

Moose it is difficult to maintain a perimeter defense in open spaces. The picture looks completely different when the Elk is in the thicket. Here he often takes a defensive defense: having covered the rear with some tree or thickets of bushes, the Elk defends itself from attacking blows of its front legs. These signature punch Elk is capable of open the skull of a wolf and can easily defend against a bear. Therefore, predators avoid meeting Elk “face to face”.

The moose is an excellent swimmer and can hold its breath underwater for more than a minute.

From the senses of the Elk, hearing and smell are best developed. Elk's eyesight is weak - he does not see a motionless person at a distance of a few tens of meters.

In a fight with predators, the Elk uses strong front legs, so even bears sometimes prefer to bypass the Elk. These animals run well thanks to strong and long legs, and can reach speeds of up to 56 km / h.

Elk milkwith which they feed their offspring, contains 5 times more protein than cow, and 3-4 times fatter. Now in Russia there are two moose farms that are engaged in the production of milk used for medicinal purposes, as well as meat and skin.

Long-legged moose calves at first cannot reach the grass and graze on their knees.

Picture of heavenly Elks or Deer were characteristic of many hunting peoples. The constellation Ursa Major in the Russian tradition was called Elk. The peoples of the North have legends about the creation of the Milky Way in the pursuit of Elk hunters, as well as how Elk carried the sun into the heavenly taiga. Sometimes taiga hunters also figuratively imagined the sun as a living creature - a giant Elk, running across the entire sky during the day and plunging into the endless underground sea by night.

Elk is the largest representative in the Olenev family. He is also the tallest hoofed animal after the giraffe. But if the giraffe reaches this height due to the 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, it was considered an honor to bear the name of Elk.

Elk (Alces alces).

Among other deer, the elk stands out sharply for its appearance. First of all, its huge size is striking - the length of the body can reach 3 m, the height of an elk exceeds 2 m, and its weight is 500-600 kg. The body of the elk is relatively short, but the legs are very long. Muzzle elk also does not look like fellows. The head of the elk is large and heavy, the muzzle is long, the large upper lip hangs slightly over the lower one. The antlers of a moose have a characteristic shape: the base of the antler (trunk) is short, from it forward, to the sides and backward, the processes diverge in a half fan, the trunk is connected to the processes by a flattened part - a "shovel". For this form, the elk received the nickname "moose".

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 moose: the older the animal, the wider the size of the "shovel" and the more processes on it. In moose, only males wear horns. The coloration of the moose is of the same type - dark brown with a lighter belly and legs.

Elk of extremely rare white color.

Moose hooves are very wide compared to other deer. Such a shape of hooves is necessary for animals to move on the viscous soil of swamps, which is not easy for such a giant. Long legs allow the elk to easily move in dense thickets of the forest, along swampy river banks and deep snow.

If necessary, the moose can easily reach a speed of 30-40 km / h.

The area of \u200b\u200bits distribution is huge. It is found in Europe, Asia and North America from the tundra border in the north to forest-steppe regions in the south. AT prehistoric times moose formed the basis of food for primitive people, along with deer, aurochs (primitive bulls) and mammoths. Elk have now been destroyed in many parts of their range. For example, in Western Europe they can only be found in the Scandinavian countries.

A huge elk in the forest can be invisible.

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

An elk wandered into a car park (USA). The photo clearly shows the real dimensions of the beast.

Elks lead a solitary life 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 during the winter.

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

In summer, moose willingly eat grass, mushrooms and even algae. Elks are generally not indifferent to aquatic vegetation; they enjoy visiting reservoirs, where they not only hide from the summer midges, but also graze. For a portion of seaweed, the moose can even dive, although usually a long-legged moose is enough just to bend his neck.

Elk feeds in the pond.

The mating season for moose begins at august-September... Males begin to roar dully. Females come to their call. Elks rarely form large groups during the rut, and they also do not arrange exhausting fights between males.

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

Females give birth to one (less often two) 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 they begin to accompany their mother.

A female elk with a calf.

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

A young elk grazes on its knees.

However, babies grow quickly and soon begin to feed on par with their mother. Moose live for 20-25 years, but in nature they usually die earlier. Moose have many natural enemies. The large size of the elk does not scare away predators, but rather even attracts. After killing one such giant, you can provide yourself with food for many days in advance. The main enemies of moose are wolves and bears. If a large bear can fight an elk on equal terms, then wolves oppose dexterity and numbers to elk. A wolf alone will not dare to fight a moose, but a pack of wolves is a serious danger. Often, wolves adhere to the tactic of driving (exhausting) the elk, drive it out into the open and surround it.

A pack of wolves caught a moose.

It is difficult for a paw to maintain a perimeter defense, especially if the fight takes place on the ice of a reservoir. Here the elk's legs are in a sad service. Long-legged moose on ice are completely helpless 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 the rear with some tree or thickets of bushes, the elk defends itself from attacking blows of its front legs. With this signature blow, the elk is able to open a wolf's skull and can easily defend itself against a bear. Therefore, predators avoid meeting elk “face to face”. Moose calves can be attacked by cougars and lynxes. Winter food is a great danger for moose; some animals die in winter from exhaustion.

Elk is also a desirable prey for humans. Elk meat tastes like beef, but as always, human vanity is the main reason for hunting it. Elk antlers taken from a live animal are considered an honorable trophy. And often not even horns, but a simple photograph with a trophy obtained, becomes the goal of this hunt. Few people know that the formidable and powerful elk is easily tamed. In zoos, by the way, moose are rare. Elk are difficult to keep because they consume a lot of twig feed, which is not easy to provide. Also, moose are sensitive to overheating, so they are not kept in zoos in hot countries. But in the Pechora-Ilychsky Nature Reserve in the 50-60s, experiments were carried out on the domestication of elk. Unlike most of the delusional experiments of the Soviet era, these attempts were highly successful. Within a short time, it was possible to create a moose farm, all of whose pets were absolutely tame and manageable. It turned out that to tame a moose, it is enough just to feed it with milk.

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

During the experiment, one more unusual quality of moose was discovered - they have a phenomenal memory. A human-fed elk 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 nickname! The question is, why does a person need a domesticated elk? It turned out that there are many discoveries in this matter. Elk can be not only a source of meat, it can also be milked. The fat content of moose milk is superior to that of cow milk, and males can be used as draft animals. Sounds funny? But don't jump to conclusions. After all, domesticated moose were not intended at all for the middle zone, but for the remote taiga regions, where traditional livestock breeding had no place. It turned out to be more profitable to use moose for movement on deep off-road than horses. But the experiments did not receive a worthy continuation. As usual, the country's leadership decided that it is more correct to drive off-road vehicles and build railways in the permafrost than fiddling with living things. But in the United States, moose farms still exist.

Elk, almost completely destroyed at the beginning of the twentieth century in our country, now lives in most of Russia. AT soviet time elk expanded its habitat at the expense of Kamchatka, where it had not been before. Elk is a popular animal among hunters, the meat of which is very tasty, and elk antlers are an excellent trophy. The life of an elk and its habits will be discussed in this article.

Where do moose live?

Elk is most likely to be found in swampy areas, near small rivers and forest streams. In these places, they can feed on their favorite algae. In rivers and swamps, he also hides from insects, climbing into the water up to his neck. Elks are excellent swimmers, they can swim across rivers more than 5 km wide. You can often see a picture of how a moose dives into the water and can hold out without air for more than two minutes.

The largest moose live in Eastern Siberia, the weight of males reaches 500 kg, the height at the withers is more than 2 meters, the body length is about 3 m.

The life and nutrition of moose.

In summer, the heat forces them to be "nocturnal residents." During the day, they hide in the shade or climb into the water. In winter, on the contrary, they lay down at night. The moose makes a lie in the snow, hiding with it, like a blanket, from under which only the head is visible.

They feed on branches and leaves of trees, moss. Elks are big mushroom lovers; in winter they do not mind eating bark.

Elks rarely leave their native places, they are sedentary animals. Only lack of food and deep snow (more than half a meter) make them change their place of residence. Looking for better life they can move 200 - 300 km. Under normal conditions, moose travel about 15 km per day. These are rather slow animals, they walk measuredly, unhurriedly, they go to a gallop only in force majeure circumstances, a disturbed elk can run more than 10 km. without stopping, until he reaches the most impenetrable wilds, where no elk lover can reach him. Elks can run up to 60 km / h.

The main enemies of the moose are wolves, bears and lynxes. Most of all moose are killed by wolves, other predators are less dangerous for them. But a healthy adult moose can fight back any pack of wolves, so there are practically no natural enemies for physically developed moose. The elk defend themselves with the help of their front legs: when the wolves attack, the elk stands with its back to the tree and strikes with its hooves. Often, predators receive injuries incompatible with life, for example, wolves with a broken skull - the work of elk hooves.

Elks, like most other ungulates, are deprived of sight, therefore they are guided by hearing and smell. They may not notice a motionless person at a distance of several tens of meters.

Elks are in great need of obtaining mineral salts, so they often visit natural salt shakers and lick salt from the roads.

The males have horns that weigh about 25 kg., Which begin to grow in April, and in November, at the end of the rut, the moose shed them. Elk antlers are very well prized as a trophy, and you can buy elk antlers for no less than 15,000 Russian rubles.

Elk rut begins in early autumn and lasts about a month and a half. The roar of male elk is heard at this time for many kilometers. Calm and friendly moose become very aggressive at this time. The vast majority of moose attacks on humans occur just during the rut. Like other deer, males engage in combat with each other, which sometimes ends in the death of one of the males. The winning male mates with a moose cow and after 230 - 240 days, moose calves appear in the spring. Male moose almost always remain faithful to one female and rarely change partners. One litter rarely contains more than two moose calves, most often one small moose is born.

Moose calves can move independently within half a day after birth, the mother feeds them with her milk for 3-4 months. For two years, the mother has been raising moose calves and protecting them from predators. Often, bears also die from her hooves, which decided to attack her cubs.

In captivity, moose live up to 20 years, in conditions wildlife - no more than 12.