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Moose (scientific name:
Alces alces
It is a mammal of the genus Moose and the family Cervicidae, with a total of eight subspecies. Moose are large, 200-260 cm in length, 160-240 cm in shoulder height, and 400-700 kg in weight. The body and four long legs are similar to that of a camel, and the shoulders are high, like the hump on the back of a camel, hence the name. Characterized by the palmed antlers of males. The head is large, the eyes are small, the face is long, the neck is short, the nose is thick and slightly drooping, and the upper lip is 5-6 cm longer than the lower lip. The whole body is brown in color, the nose is thickened, and the chin sac is under the throat. The adult male's antlers are the largest of the deer species, with palmate branches and rough horns. The moose is named for its hump-shaped back hump and antle-shaped mandible. The entire body color of the moose is tan, which varies from subspecies to subspecies.
[1]
This species is a typical subcold coniferous forest herbivore, living alone or in small groups, mostly active in the morning and evening, wandering in the forest glades. Like to eat the shoots of plants, quick action, can run fast. They have long legs and can move freely when the snow is thick. It feeds on plant branches and leaves, herbs and some aquatic plants, as well as crops such as corn and wheat seedlings. Large appetite, rumination after eating, have the habit of licking salt and alkali. Sexual maturity at 3 years old, estrus in mid-September, litter in May to July of the next year, gestation period of 8-9 months, each litter 1-2. It is found in northern Eurasia and northern North America. It is also found in the Greater and Lesser Hinggan Mountains in northeast China.
[1]
[18]
- Chinese name
- moose [15]
- Latin name
- Alces alces
- Foreign name
-
English Moose, Elk, Eurasian Elk, Eurasian Moose, European Elk, Siberian Elk
French Elan
Spanish Alce - Synonymous scientific name
- Cervus alces Linnaeus, 1758
- International endangered rating
- No risk (LC) [4]
- Animal protection levels in China
- First-class state protection of wild animals [14]
- world
- animalia
- The door
- Chordate phylum
- The outline
- mammalia
- Orders,
- artiodactyla
- Families,
- Cervidae
- Belong to
- Moose
- Kind of
- moose
- subphyla
- Vertebrate subphyla
- suborder
- Ruminatae
- subclass
- Eutheria
- subfamily
- Holodontinae
- subspecies
- 8 subspecies [4]
- Namers and years
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
catalogue
The name "Moose" is common in North America, derived from the Algonquin word for "moosh" (" skitter and bark eater ") among the Innu people of Quebec, Canada. "
Alces alces
In North American English it is called"
Moose
But in British English it is called"
Elk
". The word "Elk" in North American English refers to a completely different species of deer.
Cervus canadensis
", also known as
Red deer
.
[5]
[16]
In North America, moose live in Alaska and Canada, and in the south through the Rocky Mountains, the northern Great Lakes, and New England. The species is estimated to have arrived in North America from Asia about 11,000 to 14,000 years ago, shortly before the Bering Land Bridge flood. As of 2016, the species' range has decreased in the southern boreal forest region of Canada's eastern provinces over the past 100 years, but has expanded in other areas. Their range has expanded westward to the coastal temperate rainforests of British Columbia and some coastal islands. These changes are due to human-induced habitat changes in boreal and tropical rainforest ecosystems.
[4]
Moose with real
Cervus
Different, its metacarpal bone structure is different, and the upper canine teeth are atrophic or completely missing. So it's in its own genus, Moose. Grubb (Grubb; inWilson and Reeder (2005)
Eurasian moose
(
Alces alces
) and
moose
(
Alces americanus
") are distinct species, citing data documenting differences in karyotype, body size and proportions, prejaw form, color, and antler structure and size (Geist 1998,Boyeskorov 1999). There is still some debate as to whether moose consist of one or two species. Groves and Grubb called them "semi-species" in 1987. Boeskorov proposed in 1997 that moose (Elk)
Alces alces
However, Bowyer et al. (2000) cautioned that chromosome number may be a poor species indicator in large mammals. Based on cited sources documenting the differences between Eurasian and North American moose, Geist in 1998 recommended a separation at the subspecies level (i.e.,"
Alces alces alces
Linneaus, 1758" and"
Alces alces americanus
Clinton, 1822) ". Geist in 1998 noted the existence of extensive interbreeding areas between the two types in central and eastern Siberia, but Boskorov in 2003
The Yenisei River
Defined as the boundary between the range of these two assumed species. However, there was no difference in antler morphology between the two sides of the river, suggesting a large amount of gene flow (Kolesnikov and Kozlovskii 2014). In addition, genetic analysis generally supports distinguishing the two at a subspecific level (Hundertmark et al. 2002 a,b; Udina et al. 2002; Hundertmark and Bowyer, 2004); Further research is needed before consensus can be reached in support of species-level classification.
[4]
As Hundertmark et al reported in 2002,
mtDNA
The analysis revealed three haplogroups (subgenera) of the species, one entirely Asian, one predominantly European, and one predominantly North American. Eight extant subspecies have been identified.
[4]
European rock carvings and cave paintings show that moose were hunted during the Stone Age. The discovery of antlers in wooden houses dating back to 6000 BC in Sweden suggests that deer hunting was already taking place in northern Europe. In northern Scandinavia, traps for deer have also been found. These traps are up to 4 meters long, 7 meters wide and 2 meters deep and are camouflaged by branches and leaves. Both sides are angled and boarded up to prevent moose from escaping. The traps are generally extensive, spanning more than a few kilometers across moose haunts, and there are wooden fences to trap the moose. Traps in Norway date back to 3700 BC. This method of trapping moose was so effective that although the Norwegian government restricted its use in the 16th century, it was still used in the 19th century.
[2]
Moose were successfully introduced to Newfoundland in 1904, and have become the largest ungulate species in the region, but in
St. Lawrence Bay
the
The island of Anticosti
It did not succeed. Ten moose, introduced to New Zealand's fjords in 1910, are believed to have disappeared. There are still reported sightings of moose in New Zealand, but the exact situation remains to be determined.
Prior to World War II, the former Soviet Union studied domesticating moose. In 1949, the moose ranch was established to raise a small number of moose and select them for their behavior characteristics. Since 1963, the program has been in
Kostroma
Continuing, there were 33 domesticated moose in 2003. Although the project is not commercial, some profit can be made from the sale of moose milk to visitors. The main objectives of the project are to study the physiology and behaviour of moose and to provide information on domesticated animals.
[2]
Moose is the largest deer in the world, with a length of 200-260 cm and a shoulder height of 160-240 cm, larger than most
rhinoceros
Both are high; The weight of China's moose is generally 400-600 kg, but the body length of North America is up to 300 cm, most of the weight can reach 700 kg, and the highest record is about 1000 kg, which is called the behemoth of deer.
[1]
The tall body is very like a camel, and the four long legs are similar to camels, and the shoulders are particularly tall, and the hump is like the camel's back, so it is named. The head is large, the eyes are small, the face is extremely long, the neck is short, the nose is thick and droopy, the upper lip is enlarged and lengthened, 5-6 cm longer than the lower lip. They also have no upper canine teeth, unlike other deer. Both males and females have a column of flesh under the larynx, which is covered with a lot of drooping hair called a chine sac, but males have a more developed one. The body was short and thick, and looked out of proportion to its four slender legs. Its tail is also very short, only 7-10 cm.
[1]
The skeleton is the skeleton of a trotting runner, with long spines at the shoulders and very flexible front and back quarters. The length of the skull was 56-63 cm. The skeleton of the moose has 7 cervical vertebrae, 13 rib supporting vertebrae, 6 lumbar vertebrae, 4 sacrum bones, and 7-10 tailbones. The orbit is 19-22 cm wide and the mandible is 46-50 cm long. The skull continues to grow until the age of nine. However, more than 90% of the length has been achieved after 24 months. There are large fluctuations in the volume of the brain sac, which may be related to the developmental conditions during pregnancy.
[12]
The head is large and slender, almost as long as the neck. The forehead sinks forward, with a slight depression toward the high bridge of the nose. The head is fairly wide at the forehead. The front of the face above the large nasal cavity appears swollen and slopes steeply down to the upper lip. The head end is narrow and very slender in the nose, with a long so-called "muffle", with a strongly overhung cartilaginous upper lip. The lip and nose are covered with many tentacles. With their help, moose can quickly select branches in the winter and leaves in the summer.
[9]
Only the male animal has horns on its head, which is also the largest among deer, and the shape of the horns is special, different from other deer, it is not a fork shape, but a flat shovel shape, the horn surface is rough, from the base of the horn to the left and right sides after a short stretch to separate the eyebrow branches and trunk, in the horizontal direction, the middle is wide, much like a cactus, and many sharp forks are produced in the front third. Up to 30-40. The length of each corner is more than 100 cm, the longest can reach 180 cm, the width is about 40 cm, the amplitude of the two corners is 230-160 cm, and the weight can reach 30-40 kg.
[1]
The number of forks of moose antlers is related to age, and new horns are born at 6-8 months of age, and the primary horns are single branches, called cone horns. In the third year, there are 2 forks, and a horn disc appears at the base. The fourth year is divided into 3 forks, the fifth year is divided into 4-5 forks, and after the sixth year, it is no longer regular. The length and weight of the Angle increase with the increase of the number of forks, especially the increase of the palmate Angle area. The horn is replaced once a year, from mid-February to the end of March, the old horn falls off, and the new horn grows about a month later. From July to August, the horn began to ossify from the base, until around September, it was completely ossified, and the antler skin immediately fell off.
[1]
Moose antlers
Moose eyes are small, brown and slightly protruding. They are about 4 cm in diameter and have long eyelashes at the edges. The tear stain is not obvious. The pupil is a horizontal oval. Vision is only moderately developed. Studies of the eye have shown that the retina consists of many rods (light and dark vision) and a few cones (color vision). As a result, moose can see well in the dark or at dusk and are well adapted to their preferred time of activity.
[6]
The eye of a moose
Moose Tapetum lucidum, like other nocturnal animals, has a kind of mirror at the back of their eyeballs that reflects light. This is why moose eyes glow in the dark when light falls on them. The "mirror" is called the "tapetum lucidum" and it allows light to pass through the retina twice. Moose, on the other hand, have less developed color vision. So it can be assumed that moose perceive their surroundings in different shades of gray, kind of like a slightly blurry black-and-white movie.
[6]
With eyes lined up on either side of the head, moose can see 360 degrees. However, it has been established that the perception of sides is only one-dimensional. As a result, moose cannot recognize stationary objects positioned laterally. On the other hand, it will respond immediately to movement, reflection or flash. Their eyes are fixed on the motionless person standing next to them, but they cannot recognize them.
[6]
Moose's preorbital glands secrete strong-smelling secretions and are particularly active during heat.
[6]
Moose have a very developed palate, are very picky in their food choices, and have long lips designed to brush off leaves. A large, powerful upper lip with a distinctive appearance. The jaw is also short at birth, but grows rapidly at half the age to make room for a full dentition. The mouth of a moose is the vomeronasal organ, which is used for communication during estrus.
[17]
The moose bite consists of 32 teeth, i.e. 12 broad molars in the upper jaw, as many in the lower jaw, and usually eight chisel-shaped incisors. The upper jaw has a hard, insensitive maxillary plate. The incisors are harder than the molars. Compared to other deer species, the sides of the incisors are more worn than the tips of moose incisors. Moose use the front teeth of their jaws to cut their food. These animals use their wide, flat-topped molars and premolars to grind cellulose-rich plant material.
[17]
dentition
The moose's lips and teeth
As forest animals, moose must always rely on hearing. It has developed accordingly well. Moose ears are furry inside and out, and like radar antennas, they are constantly moving. The ears are wide, tapering and very flexible, about 27-35 cm long. The surface area of the ear is about 430 square centimeters (the human ear is 7 square centimeters). A moose can turn its ears independently, pointing in almost a complete circle to where it wants to hear, and even tilt one ear forward and the other back while trying to locate a sound.
[10]
Low frequency sound goes deep into the forest. Although the audible frequency range of 16-21,000 Hz is almost the same as that of young humans, elk's ability to hear faint, low-frequency sounds is better developed than in humans. This is how moose can communicate with each other over distances of up to 3 kilometers. By opening their ears, moose can hear "stereo sound." This makes it easier for them to locate the distance and direction of the noise source. Shovel-shaped antlers appear to act as a kind of satellite dish, picking up sounds, amplifying them, and delivering them to the ears. When excited, moose tilt their ears back or drop them.
[10]
Moose ear
Moose have a well-developed sense of smell. He uses his sensitive nose to avoid danger and find food. Most of the conversation between moose is conducted through the language of smell. The nostrils may contract during diving. The nostrils are very large, open and facing forward. The leading edge is rounded. The nostrils narrow backward and end at a point. This allows the moose to absorb air coming from behind. There is a small bald, wrinkled, dark area of skin in the middle of the upper lip between the nostrils, known as the nasal area. It is so small that it does not touch the nostrils and can have different shapes.
[11]
By smelling, moose can determine not only an object, but also its distance. These bifurcated nasal passages also serve another purpose. In areas where moose live, winter temperatures can occasionally drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius. Moose can only survive this cold because the air it breathes is heated by about 15 degrees in its nasal passages before reaching its lungs.
[11]
Moose nose
Moose support their large, stubby bodies on long legs, which are between 90-110 cm long, depending on sex and age. The legs of a large Alaskan moose may grow a few centimeters. The front legs are usually stronger than the back legs. They have very flexible front and rear joints and end with the hoof, which is usually separated. The hoof consists of two strong, fairly narrow and pointed toes, up to 18 cm long, and a well-developed anal toe. They are dark and long. The front toe shell is slightly larger and wider than the hind leg. Because of the outer corner layer, the leading edge of the toenail is very strong.
[7]
Moose leg [7]
Moose leg [7]
Moose have marking glands, between the toes on each of their four feet, which they use to leave scent marks. There are also tarsal glands, located between the lower back and the upper back legs, which secrete an odor when pressure is applied (
cresol
). In dangerous situations, the glands secrete an odor (pheromone) to warn other species.
[7]
The fur is relatively long and brown in all shades. Depending on the time of year, the age of the animal, and the distribution area, the color can range from light beige brown to reddish gray brown to almost black. Like many other mammals, moose have two coats of fur. The outer fur is coarse and hard. The single hairs are thick, slightly wavy, and have large inflatable cavities, especially in winter. The hair on the head is also brittle. Secretions from the sebaceous glands ensure strong lubrication.
[8]
Shorter hair on the head and neck. On the legs, especially the lower half, the hair is short, smooth, elastic, and strong, and curves slightly downward into an arc. In the winter, the outermost tip of the hair fades, which lightens the coat. The fur is hollow and provides good protection against cold northern weather. The high air content of hollow hair and its fatty coating prevent moisture and provide buoyancy while swimming. In winter, the hair on the upper side of the body is about 10 cm long, slightly longer on the back, and much shorter on the sides and abdomen. They are very long at the shoulder hump, reaching 16-18 cm, with Alaskan moose reaching up to 25 cm. The fur of a moose has a wonderful insulating effect. If you get up and shake yourself, the snow that falls on your body will fall off, leaving no residue.
[1]
[8]
Moose live at altitudes between sea level and 2,500 meters. It is commonly found in coniferous forests and mixed forests in temperate to subarctic climates in the northern hemisphere. Be typical
Subfrigid coniferous forest
Animals. It is found in a range of woodland habitats from tundra and taiga to the south, and from the north to the temperate zone, in both taiga and broadleaf forests. This species prefers sporadic patches of regrowing boreal forests, open grasslands, swamps, lakes, and wetlands. Thriving in secondary forest growth, its population expansion in Scandinavia is associated with the replacement of natural coniferous forests with secondary woodlands after logging. They can also live in open areas in lowlands and mountains, including farmland, if there is forest nearby. The species avoids hot summer conditions by utilizing dense shade or bodies of water.
[4]
Mostly in the flat low-lying areas of the forest, forest marshland activities, never far away from the forest, but also with the different seasons change. In spring, it is mostly active in the areas of mixed forest, birch forest, aspen forest and thick willow thicket along the river and lake. Most of the summer is spent in river woodland, burnt land, shrub and overgrown river bays, valley moor, tall grass
Grassy meadow
As well as old river beds and other areas of activity, especially like mountain streams, succulent vegetation lush lowlands and swamps. Most of the autumn knot wandering in the forest clearing, logging, forest edge or forest marshlands, or mountain streams upstream shelter from the sun. In winter, it is mainly active in the poplar birch forest on the sunny slope of the mountain and the willow forest scrub in the swamp. In severe winter, small groups often live in areas with groundwater outcrops.
[1]
[4]
Some populations of moose migrate throughout the year in search of food, up to 180 km in North America and 300 km in Asia. Whether resident or migratory, moose utilize specific family ranges, varying in size from 3.6 to or greater than 259 square kilometers.
[4]
The moose is a forest animal, active by day. Since moose don't have many sweat glands on their bodies other than their mouths, they experience heat stress when temperatures get too high. To avoid this, they are more active in the evenings and cool mornings during the hot season than during the hottest part of the day. Heat stress causes the heart rate to increase, which speeds up circulation, which leads to an unnecessary increase in energy expenditure.
[13]
In order to adapt to the harsh cold environment, moose have evolved many remarkable survival skills. In addition to myopia, moose hearing and smell are very sensitive, although the body is tall and clumsy, but in fact, moose action is quite flexible, can be free to move in the snow 60 centimeters deep ground, can run for several hours at 55 kilometers per hour; It is also a kind of high jump deer, can drag a heavy body to jump up to eat high branches and leaves, and the biggest feature of moose is that it is a veritable "swimmer", can swim more than 20 kilometers at a time, so that many people have seen moose across the channel, but also dive to 5-6 meters deep water to forage for water grass.
[13]
They usually live alone, with females and fawns living in groups. Often choose to rest in shallow swamps for water cooling. They are also known as "swamp donkeys" due to their wet habitat and large ears. They also wander the tundra and shrubbery areas of the grasslands. Lying down in the open, resting and sleeping. Sleep is not very long, but switches between activity and rest every 2-3 hours. The species feeds only under the protection of darkness. They behave very cautiously when they feel disturbed. Will shout loudly, and will break branches and twigs, and run loudly through pools and pools.
[13]
In winter, when the snow is high and the animals have to travel farther than usual to find food, moose gather in small groups of 5-10. The animals feed separately, with their resting places at least five metres apart. Some moose lie down to sleep 100 metres from the nearest species.
[13]
Feeding and drinking all day long. In Canada and Alaska, moose feed on the nutritious parts of a variety of broad-leaved trees in early summer, preferring birch, ash, and willow in spring and summer, and the branches of these species as well as fir, alpine, and juniper in fall and winter. They also eat shrubs such as blueberries and heather, dwarf shrubs, herbs, and aquatic plants. There are more than 70 types of food, including grass, leaves, twigs and
Water lily
Aquatic plants, such as duckweed, eat a lot, eat more than 20 kilograms of plants every day, and cattle eat after the beard
regurgitation
And the habit of licking salt and alkali.
[4]
It is distributed in Belarus, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Mongolia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, and the United States (Alaska).
[4]
Extinct: Austria.
[4]
In China, they are found only in the Greater Khingan Mountains and the northern Lesser Khingan Mountains. In North America, it is found in Canada, Alaska, much of New England, the Rocky Mountains,
Minnesota
Northeast, Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Isle Royale in Lake Superior, as far south as Colorado.
[4]
Map of moose distribution [4]
Moose begin estrus in late August, chase season in mid-September, end in October, generally the female than the male about a week later estrus. The male animal in heat is unusually excited, the hair is fluffy, the cornea is congested, more in the morning and evening to roar, often in the trunk of the tree, the bark is wiped off, leaving many pit marks on the trunk, and sometimes with the Angle, turn up more than 10 centimeters high soil.
[1]
Mating competition: Two males first meet each other
Eye covetously
And then violently attacked the "rival in love" with a huge horn, issuing a "crack crack crack" horn sound. Under normal circumstances, when one side is defeated, it will leave, but sometimes the two sides are so evenly matched that it is inevitable that one side will be hurt. If this kind of Angle attack lasts for a long time, so that the huge and complex horns of both sides can not be twisted together like a stranded chain, after a long time, it may also die due to hunger and fatigue. The female chooses the winning male to mate with.
[1]
A winning male will usually mate with only one or two females. The gestation period of the female is 242-250 days, usually in late May to early July of the following year, one litter per litter, occasionally two litter. The newborn baby is 70-82 cm long, the weight is 10-12 kg, the body color is brown, and occasionally the whole body is white hair, known as "white moose" or "albino moose", very rare, the proportion of births is about one in 10,000. After giving birth, the female immediately stood up and licked dry the wet fur on the baby, the baby also began to struggle to stand up, but it would fall down again and again, after many times, it could barely stand up. The young grow rapidly, especially in the first 6 months. After 10-14 days, they start to follow the female, and after 1 month, they start to eat grass and tender leaves, and the breastfeeding period is about 3 and a half months. They can live independently after the age of 1 and reach sexual maturity at the age of 3-4.
[1]
|
Chinese name
|
Scientific name
|
Namers and years
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Alces alces alces
|
(Linnaeus, 1758)
|
|
|
2
|
Moose subspecies of eastern North America
|
Alces alces americanus
|
(Clinton, 1822)
|
|
3
|
Moose subspecies of western North America
|
Alces alces andersoni
|
Peterson, 1950
|
|
4
|
Alces alces
buturlini
|
Chernyavsky & Zhelesnov, 1982
|
|
|
5
|
Alces alces cameloides
|
(Milne-Edwards, 1867)
|
|
|
6
|
Alaskan moose subspecies
|
Alces alces gigas
|
Miller, 1899
|
|
7
|
Siberian moose subspecies
|
Alces alces pfizenmayeri
|
Zukowsky, 1910
|
|
8
|
Alces alces shirasi
|
Nelson, 1914
|
[4]
Moose are a widespread and abundant species in most regions except China, where they are extremely rare and have limited distribution. It's common in Siberia and North America. In 2003, the species was declared endangered in Nova Scotia, Canada (Beazley et al., 2006). Species populations in western British Columbia have expanded and increased since the mid-1900s (Darimont et al. 2005).
[4]
In the last 50 years before 1999, the European population increased dramatically to at least 440,000, of which about 50% were caught each year (Wilson and Mittermeier2011). As of 2010, the number in Scandinavia has increased significantly in recent decades, while the range in the Caucasus is expanding. European quantities show fluctuations over multi-year cycles. Estimates of the number of species in European countries include: up to 50 animals in the Czech Republic, 10,000 in Estonia, at least 110,000 in Finland, 2,800 in Poland, and 340,000 in Sweden. In North America, the estimated number of species is about 1 million, with annual production of about 85,000 in the late 1990s (Wilson and Mittermeier 2011).
[4]
Moose body structure in traffic accidents, often cause the death of the moose itself and the driver. Because when a moose is knocked down by a car, its thinner limbs will be broken, and its heavy body will hit the windshield, which is a certain danger to the driver. In the event of a collision, the airbag may not be able to deploy as usual. in
Scandinavia
One of the cars tested was a moose
test
The project was to test the car's ability to make an S steer at high speed in order to avoid a collision with a moose while still controlling the car.
There will be moose warning signs in moose haunts to remind you to avoid colliding with moose. in
Sweden
,
Norse
And Finland's warning signs are triangular in shape, and many souvenirs will use this pattern. In the mid-1990s, Sweden issued a triangular moose warning stamp. In Canada
Newbenz district
Due to the frequent traffic accidents caused by moose, Seine nets have been set up on highways like those in Sweden, Norway and Finland to prevent the entry of moose.
[3]
Moose conservation sign
Moose conservation sign
