MOOSE 



Moose prefer regions where lakes and streams furnish them 

 with the aquatic plant life which forms such an important part 

 of their summer diet and where forests and shrubbery insure a 

 winter food supply. In the United States they are found 

 only in a few states along the Canadian border and in a narrow 

 strip down the Rockies; the greatest part of their range lies 

 north of 50° north latitude. 



Like other Deer, the Moose may be active at any hour but 

 usually the best times for observation are early in the morn- 

 ing or from late afternoon on into evening. The large size of 

 the animal makes it conspicuous when moving, and during the 

 fall, the mating season, it is very noisy and attracts attention 

 by calling and breaking of brush. The call of the bull Moose 

 is a hoarse bellow or deep grunt to which the cow Moose re- 

 sponds by a longer call, which is difficult of description but 

 might be characterized as an expressive blatting bellow in a 

 base register. Seton describes it as "Moo-waugh-yuh" on three 

 notes, the second one being prolonged. When the bull re- 

 ceives an answer, either from a cow, or another bull challeng- 

 ing to combat, he often smashes his way through brush or dead 

 timber, with a fine disregard for whoever may hear him, and 

 may stop often to thrash the shrubbery with his antlers. At 

 other times he may move so quietly that no sound of approach 

 is heard. Hunters can call a bull Moose by imitating the 

 bellow of the cow and decoy the animal within easy rifle shot. 

 During most of the year Moose do not call, the season of vocal 

 activity being only two or three weeks, and usually from the 

 middle of September into October. Rarely a Moose call may 

 be heard as late as December. 



Moose browse on twigs and shrubbery and also spend much 

 time in the water searching for the water plants which grow in 

 the shallow northern lakes. Sometimes they get these plants 

 by submerging only the head and part of the neck, but if the 

 water is deeper they may dive and be completely under water. 



The cow Moose has one calf her first season and thereafter 

 two, rarely three. The young are bom in late May and re- 

 main with the mother until the next spring. 



Genus Rangifer 



Dentition: Incisors, 2 ; Canines, ^; Premolars, f ; Molars, f =34. 



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