The moose (North America) or elk (Europe), Alces alces, is the largest extant Extant is a term commonly used in biology to refer to taxa that are still in existence (living). The term extant contrasts with extinct. For example, Brandt's Cormorant is an extant species, while the Spectacled Cormorant is an extinct species. Likewise, of the group of molluscs known as the cephalopods, there are approximately 600 extant species species There are many definitions of what kind of unit a species is . A common definition is that of a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring, and separated from other such groups with which interbreeding does not (normally) happen. Other definitions may focus on similarity of DNA or morphology. Some species are in the deer Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae . A number of broadly similar animals from related families within the order Artiodactyla are often also called deer. Male deer of all species (except the Chinese water deer) grow and shed new antlers each year – in this they differ from permanently horned animals such as antelope – family What does and does not belong to each family is determined by a taxonomist. Similarly for the question if a particular family should be recognized at all. Often there is no exact agreement, with different taxonomists each taking a different position. There are no hard rules that a taxonomist needs to follow in describing or recognizing a family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers Antlers are the usually large and complex horn-like appendages of most deer species, mostly worn by males in true horns. Each antler grows from an attachment point on the skull called a pedicle. While an antler is growing it is covered with highly vascular skin called velvet, which supplies oxygen and nutrients to the growing bone; once the antler of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a "twig-like" configuration.

Naming and etymology

The animal bearing the scientific name Alces alces is known in Europe Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast. Europe is washed upon to the north by the Arctic Ocean and as elk and in North America North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific Ocean; South America lies to the as moose. The name elk is connected with several earlier European variants—Latin Latin is an Italic language historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe. Romance languages such as Italian, French, Catalan, Romanian, Spanish, and Portuguese are descended from Latin, while many others, especially European languages, including: alces, Old Norse Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300: elgr, Scandinavian The North Germanic languages or Scandinavian languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages, a sub-family of the Indo-European languages, along with the West Germanic languages and the extinct East Germanic languages. The language group is sometimes referred to as the Nordic languages, a direct translation of the most common: elg, and German German (Deutsch, [dɔʏtʃ] ) is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers and also by about 80 million non-native: Elch—all of which refer to this animal.

Confusingly, the word elk in North America refers to the second largest deer Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae . A number of broadly similar animals from related families within the order Artiodactyla are often also called deer. Male deer of all species (except the Chinese water deer) grow and shed new antlers each year – in this they differ from permanently horned animals such as antelope – species, Cervus canadensis, also known as the wapiti. Early European explorers in North America, who were familiar with the closely related but smaller red deer The Red Deer is one of the largest deer species. The Red Deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor and parts of western and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being the only species of deer to inhabit Africa. Red Deer have been introduced to of Central and Western Europe, believed that the much larger North American animal looked more like the European elk (i.e. moose), so they named it elk.

The word moose is derived from the Algonquian The Algonquian languages languages are a subfamily of Native American languages that includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is itself a member of the Algonquian language family. The Eastern Abnaki name moz, which loosely translates to "twig eater".^[2]

Habitat and range

Moose typically inhabit boreal Taiga is a biome characterized by conifer forests. The taiga can be described as rather cold (almost like the tundra), with many trees (like the deciduous forest, except the trees aren't deciduous). Covering most of inland Alaska, Canada, Sweden, Finland, inland Norway, Highland Scotland and Russia (especially Siberia), as well as parts of the and mixed deciduous forests Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests are a temperate and humid biome. The typical structure of these forests include four layers. The upper most layer is the canopy which is composed of tall mature trees. Below the canopy is the three-layered, shade tolerant understory. The top layer of the understory is the sub-canopy which is composed of of the Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of the equator—the word hemisphere literally means 'half sphere'. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator. Earth's northern hemisphere contains most of its land area and most of its human population in temperate In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally mild, rather than extreme hot or cold. But in continental areas, such as central North America the variations between summer and winter can be extreme. In regions traditionally to subarctic Regions having a subarctic climate are characterized by long, usually very cold winters, and short, cool to mild summers. It is found on large landmasses, away from the moderating effects of an ocean, generally at latitudes from 50° to 70°N poleward of the humid continental climates. These climates represent Koppen climate classification Dfc, climates.

In North America North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific Ocean; South America lies to the, the moose range includes almost all of Canada Canada is a country occupying most of upper North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean. It is the world's second largest country by total area and shares the world's longest common border with the United States to the south and northwest, most of central and western Alaska Alaska ( /əˈlæskə/ , Russian: Аляска Alyaska) is the largest state of the United States of America by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait, much of New England New England is a region of the United States located in the northeastern corner of the country, bounded by the Atlantic Ocean, Canada and New York State, and consisting of the modern states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut and upstate New York, the upper Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than 4,800 kilometres from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in Canada, to New Mexico, in the United States. The range's highest peak is Mount Elbert in Colorado at 14,440 feet (4,401 m) above sea level, Northeastern Minnesota Minnesota ( /mɪnɨˈsoʊtə/ ) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. The twelfth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with just over five million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state on May 11,, and Michigan Michigan ( /ˈmɪʃɨɡən/ ) is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Ojibwe term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"'s Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is the northern of the two major land masses that comprise the U.S. state of Michigan. It is commonly referred to as the Upper Peninsula, the U.P., or Upper Michigan. More casually it is known as the land "above the Bridge" . It is bounded on the north by Lake Superior, on the east by the St. Mary's River, and Isle Royale Isle Royale is an island of the Great Lakes, located in the northwest of Lake Superior. The island and the surrounding smaller islands and waters make up Isle Royale National Park. It is pronounced /ˌaɪlˈrɔɪəl/, with a long "I" in Isle and the accent on the first syllable of Royale, not the second. In French, "Isle" is in Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by Ontario, Canada and Minnesota, United States, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area and is the world's third-largest freshwater lake by volume. Isolated moose populations have been verified as far south as the mountains of Utah The State of Utah (pronounced /ˈjuːtɔː/ or /ˈjuːtɑː/ ) is a western state of the United States. It was the 45th state admitted to the Union on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80 percent of Utah's 2,736,424 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering around Salt Lake City. In contrast, vast expanses of the state are nearly uninhabited, and Colorado The State of Colorado ( /kɒləˈrædoʊ/ or /kɒləˈrɑːdoʊ/ (help·info)) is a state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. It may also be considered to be part of the Western and Southwestern regions of the United States. Colorado entered statehood in 1876 and was nicknamed the “Centennial State”. It is.^[3] In 1978 a few breeding pairs were introduced in western Colorado, and the state's moose population is now more than 1,000.

In Europe Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast. Europe is washed upon to the north by the Arctic Ocean and, moose are found in large numbers throughout Norway Norway (pronounced /ˈnɔɹweɪ/ ; Norwegian: Norge (Bokmål), Noreg (Nynorsk)) or Norga (North Sami), officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty. The majority of the country, Sweden Sweden (pronounced /ˈswiːdən/ ), officially the Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish: Konungariket Sverige (help·info)), is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and it is connected to Denmark by the Öresund Bridge in the south, Estonia Estonia [ɛsˈtəʊniə] , officially the Republic of Estonia (Estonian: Eesti or Eesti Vabariik), is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia (343 km), and to the east by the Russian Federation (338,6 km). The territory of Estonia, Finland Finland /ˈfɪnlənd/ , officially the Republic of Finland ( Finnish: Suomi; Swedish: Finland (help·info)), is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is and the Baltic States The Baltic states , Baltic Nations or Baltic countries are three countries in Northern Europe, all members of the European Union: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. After centuries of foreign domination the Baltic countries reemerged as independent nations in the aftermath of World War I in 1918-1920. They are also widespread through Russia Russia (pronounced /ˈrʌʃə/ ; Russian: Россия, pronounced [rʌˈsʲijə]), officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation(Russian: Российская Федерация​ (help·info), Rossiyskaya Federatsiya), is a country in northern Eurasia (Europe and Asia together). It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83. Small populations remain in Poland (Biebrza Nat. Park) Biebrza National Park is a national park in Podlaskie Voivodeship, northeastern Poland, situated along the Biebrza River and Belarus Belarus /ˈbɛləruːs/ (help·info) (Belarusian: Беларусь, Russian: Беларусь or Белоруссия) is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the north. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno (.

Moose were successfully introduced on Newfoundland Newfoundland (pronounced /ˈnuːfənlænd/ ( listen); French: Terre-Neuve, Irish: Talamh an Éisc) — is a large Canadian island 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) off the east coast of North America, and the most populous part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1904 where they are now the dominant ungulate Ungulates are several groups of mammals, most of which use the tips of their toes, usually hoofed, to sustain their whole body weight while moving. They make up several orders of mammals, of which six to eight survive. There is some dispute as to whether Ungulata are a cladistic (evolution-based) group, or merely a phenetic group or folk taxon (, and somewhat less successfully on Anticosti Island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence The Gulf of Saint Lawrence , the world's largest estuary, is the outlet of North America's Great Lakes via the Saint Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean. It is a semi–enclosed sea, covering an area of about 236 000 km2 and containing 35000 km3 of water (including the St. Lawrence estuary). It opens to the Atlantic Ocean through the Cabot. Ten moose were also introduced in Fiordland Fiordland is a geographic region of New Zealand that is situated on the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the western-most third of Southland. Most of it is covered by the Fiordland National Park, which has an area of 12,120 square kilometres, making it the largest national park in New Zealand and one of the larger parks in the, New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud. The Realm of New Zealand also includes the Cook in 1910, but they were thought to have died off. Nevertheless, there have been reported sightings that were thought to be false until moose hair samples were found by a New Zealand scientist in 2002.^[4] In 2008 moose (or elk) were reintroduced in to the Scottish Highlands The Scottish Highlands include the rugged and mountainous regions of Scotland north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, although the exact boundaries are not clearly defined, particularly to the east. The Great Glen divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands.

Subspecies

Description

Antlers

The male's antlers grow as cylindrical beams projecting on each side of the head at right angles to the midline of the skull, and then fork. The lower prong of this fork may be either simple, or divided into two or three tines, with some flattening.

In the North Siberian elk (A. a. bedfordiae), the posterior division of the main fork divides into three tines, with no distinct flattening. In the common elk (A. a. alces) this branch usually expands into a broad palmation, with one large tine at the base, and a number of smaller snags on the free border. There is, however, a Scandinavian breed of the common elk in which the antlers are simpler, and recall those of the East Siberian animals.

The palmation appears to be more marked in North American moose (Alces alces americanus) than in the typical Scandinavian elk.

The male will drop its antlers after the mating season and conserve energy for the winter. A new set of antlers will then regrow in the spring. Antlers take three to five months to fully develop, making them one of the fastest growing animal organs. They initially have a layer of skin called felt which is shed once the antlers become fully grown. Immature bulls may not shed their antlers for the winter, but retain them until the following spring.

If a bull moose is castrated, either by accidental or chemical means, he will quickly shed his current set of antlers and then immediately begin to grow a new set of misshapen and deformed antlers that he will wear the rest of his life without ever shedding again. The distinctive looking appendages (often referred to as "devil's antlers") are the source of several myths and legends among many groups of Inuit as well as several other tribes of indigenous peoples of North America.^[5]

Size and weight

On average, an adult moose stands 1.8–2.1 m (6–7 ft) high at the shoulder^[6]. Males weigh 380–720 kg (850–1580 pounds) and females weigh 270–360 kg (600–800 pounds).^[7] The largest of all is the Alaskan subspecies (A. a. gigas), which can stand over 2.1 m (7 ft) at the shoulder, has a span across the antlers of 1.8 m (6 ft) and averages 634.5 kg (1,396 lbs) in males and 478 kg (1,052 lbs) in females.^[8] Typically, however, the antlers of a mature specimen are between 1.2 m (3.9 ft) and 1.5 m (4.9 ft). The largest confirmed size for this species was a bull shot at the Yukon River in September 1897 weighing 820 kg (1,800 lb) and was 233 cm (92 in) tall at the shoulder.^[9] The Moose of Alaska matches the extinct Irish Elk as the largest deer of all time.^[10] Behind only the bisons, the Moose is the second largest land animal in both North America and Europe.

Social structure and reproduction

Moose are mostly diurnal. They are generally solitary with the strongest bonds between mother and calf. Two individuals can sometimes be found feeding along the same stream. The males are polygamous and will seek several females to breed with.

Mating occurs in September and October. During this times both sexes will call to each other. Males produce heavy grunting sounds that can be heard from up to 500 meters away while females produce a wail-like sound.^[11] Males will fight for access to females. They will either assess which is larger, and the smaller bull will retreat, or they may engage in battles, usually only involving the antlers. Female moose have an eight month gestation period. Most litters consist of a single calf; however, twins are not uncommon and triplets are known to occur. Newborn moose have fur with a reddish hue in contrast to the brown appearance of an adult. The young will stay with the mother until just before the next young are born.

Natural predators

A full-grown moose has few enemies, but a pack of wolves can still pose a threat, especially to females with calves.^[12] Siberian Tigers ^[13] and Brown Bear^[14][15] are also known to prey on moose, although bears are more likely to take over a wolf kill than to hunt moose on their own.^[16] American Black Bears and Cougars can be significant predators of moose calves in May and June.^[17][18]

In some areas, moose are the primary source of food for wolves. Moose usually flee upon detecting wolves. Wolves usually follow moose at a distance of 100–400 meters, occasionally at a distance of 2–3 km. Attacks from wolves against young moose may last seconds, though sometimes it can be drawn out for days with adults. Sometimes, wolves will chase moose into shallow streams or onto frozen rivers, where their mobility is greatly impeded. Moose will sometimes stand their ground and defend themselves by charging at the wolves or lashing out at them with their powerful hooves. Wolves typically kill moose by tearing at their haunches and perineum, causing massive blood loss. Occasionally, a wolf may immobilise a moose by biting its sensitive nose, the pain of which can paralyze a moose.^[19] Wolf packs primarily target calves and elderly animals, but can and will take healthy, adult moose. Moose between the ages of two and eight are rarely killed by wolves.^[20] Though moose are usually hunted by packs, there are cases in which single wolves have successfully killed moose.^[21]

Moose as food

Moose are hunted as a game species in many of the countries where they are found. Moose meat tastes, wrote Henry David Thoreau in “The Maine Woods”, “like tender beef, with perhaps more flavour; sometimes like veal”. While the flesh has similar protein levels to other comparable red meats (e.g. beef, deer and elk) it has a low fat content and the fat that is found is made up of a higher proportion of polyunsaturated fats (rather than saturated fats).^[22]

Cadmium levels are high in Finnish elk liver and kidneys, with the result that consumption of these organs from elk more than one year old is prohibited in Finland^[23]. Cadmium intake has been found to be elevated amongst all consumers of elk meat, though the elk meat was found to contribute only slightly to the daily cadmium intake. However the consumption of moose liver or kidneys significantly increased cadmium intake, with the study revealing that heavy consumers of moose organs have a relatively narrow safety margin below the levels which would probably cause adverse health effects^[24].

History

European rock drawings and cave paintings reveal that moose have been hunted since the Stone Age. Excavations in Alby, Sweden adjacent to the Stora Alvaret have yielded elk antlers in wooden hut remains from 6,000 BC, indicating some of the earliest elk hunting in northern Europe. In northern Scandinavia one can still find remains of trapping pits used for hunting elk. These pits, which can be up to 4 × 7 m wide and 2 m deep, would have been camouflaged with branches and leaves. They would have had steep sides lined with planks, making it impossible for the elk to escape once it fell in. The pits are normally found in large groups, crossing the elk's regular paths and stretching over several kilometres. Remains of wooden fences designed to guide the animals toward the pits have been found in bogs and peat. In Norway, an early example of these trapping devices has been dated to around 3,700 BC. Trapping elk in pits is an extremely effective hunting method, and as early as the 16th century the Norwegian government tried to restrict their use. Nevertheless, the method was in use until the 19th century.

The first written description of the elk is in Julius Cæsar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico, where it is described thus:

"There are also animals which are called alces. The shape of these, and the varied colour of their skins, is much like roes, but in size they surpass them a little and are without horns, and have legs without joints and ligatures; nor do they lie down for the purpose of rest, nor, if they have been thrown down by any accident, can they raise or lift themselves up. Trees serve as beds to them; they lean themselves against them, and thus reclining only slightly, they take their rest; when the huntsmen have discovered from the footsteps of these animals whither they are accustomed to betake themselves, they either undermine all the trees at the roots, or cut into them so far that the upper part of the trees may appear to be left standing. When they have leant upon them, according to their habit, they knock down by their weight the unsupported trees, and fall down themselves along with them."

In chapter 16 of Pliny the Elder's Natural History from 77 AD the elk and an animal called achlis, which is presumably the same animal, are described thus:

"...there is, also, the elk, which strongly resembles our steers, except that it is distinguished by the length of the ears and of the neck. There is also the achlis, which is produced in the land of Scandinavia; it has never been seen in this city, although we have had descriptions of it from many persons; it is not unlike the elk, but has no joints in the hind leg. Hence, it never lies down, but reclines against a tree while it sleeps; it can only be taken by previously cutting into the tree, and thus laying a trap for it, as otherwise, it would escape through its swiftness. Its upper lip is so extremely large, for which reason it is obliged to go backwards when grazing; otherwise, by moving onwards, the lip would get doubled up."

Dr. Valerius Geist, who emigrated to Canada from the Soviet Union wrote in his 1999 book Moose: Behaviour, Ecology, Conservation:

"Those who care most passionately about moose are—paradoxically—hunters, in particular people who live in wilderness and rural communities and those who depend on moose for food. In Sweden, no fall menu is without a mouthwatering moose dish. The Swedes fence their highways to reduce moose fatalities and design moose-proof cars. Sweden is less than half as large as the Canadian province of British Columbia, but the annual take of moose in Sweden—upward of 150,000—is twice that of the total moose harvest in North America. That is how much Swedes cherish their moose."

Aggression

Moose are not usually aggressive animals towards humans, but can be provoked or frightened to behave with aggression. In terms of raw numbers, they attack more people than bears and wolves combined, but usually with only minor consequences. When harassed or startled by people or in the presence of a dog, moose may charge. Also, as with bears or any wild animal, moose who become habituated to being fed by people may act aggressively when denied food. During the fall mating season, bull moose may be aggressive toward humans due to the high hormone levels they experience during this time. Cow moose with young calves are very protective and will attack humans who come too close, especially if they come between mother and calf. Unlike other dangerous animals, moose are not territorial, and do not view humans as food, and will therefore usually not pursue a human if they simply run away.^[25] Like any wild animal, moose are unpredictable and should be given a respectful amount of space.

Vehicle collisions

A moose's body structure, with a large heavy body suspended on long spindly legs, makes these animals particularly dangerous when hit by motor vehicles. Such collisions are often fatal for both the moose and motorist. Generally, upon impact the bumper of the car will break the moose's legs. The main body of the moose will then collide with the windscreen, often with disastrous effect to both motorist and animal. In a collision of this nature, a car's airbags may not deploy or be of much use if they do.^[26] These risks led to the development of a vehicle test referred to as the "moose test" (Swedish: Älgtest, German: Elchtest).

Moose warning signs are used on roads in regions where there is a danger of collision with the animal. The triangular warning signs common in Sweden, Norway and Finland have become coveted souvenirs among the many German tourists traveling in these countries, and authorities have had to issue warnings that it is dangerous and criminal to remove these signs.^{[citation needed]}

Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten estimated in January 2008 that some 13,000 moose had died in collisions with Norwegian trains since 2000. The state agency in charge of railroad infrastructure (Jernbaneverket) plans to spend 80 million Norwegian kroner to reduce collision rate in the future by fencing the railways, clearing vegetation from near the tracks, and providing alternative snow-free feeding places for the animals elsewhere.^[27]

In the Canadian province of New Brunswick, collisions with moose are frequent enough that all new highways have fences to prevent moose from accessing the road, similar to how it has long been done in Finland, Norway and Sweden. Demonstratively, Highway 7 between Fredericton and Saint John, which has one of the highest frequencies of moose collisions in the province, does not have these fences, although it is extremely well signed.^[28]

Domestication

Domestication of moose was investigated in the Soviet Union before World War II. Early experiments were inconclusive, but with the creation of a moose farm at Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve in 1949 a small-scale moose domestication program was started, involving attempts at selective breeding of animals based on their behavioural characteristics. Since 1963, the programme has continued at Kostroma Moose Farm, which had a herd of 33 tame moose as of 2003. Although at this stage the farm is not expected to be a profit-making enterprise, it obtains some income from the sale of moose milk and from visiting tourist groups. Its main value, however, is seen in the opportunities it offers for the research in the physiology and behaviour of the moose, as well as in the insights it provides into the general principles of animal domestication.

References

1. ^ Henttonen, H., Stubbe, M., Maran, T. & Tikhonov A. (2008). Alces alces. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2008. Retrieved on 11 February 2009.
2. ^ "Moose". World Wide Fund for Nature. 2007-03-28. http://www.panda.org/news_facts/education/best_place_species/current_top_10/moose.cfm. Retrieved on 2008-11-24. "The moose (Alces alces), is the largest member of the deer family and the largest mammal in North America. Moose is an Algonquin term for 'twig eater'."
3. ^ Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
4. ^ Hairs move NZ moose out of realm of Nessie - 06 October 2005 - Dunedin and Otago News, Sport and Weather from NZ Herald
5. ^ Geist, Valerius (1998) Deer of the World: Their Evolution, Behaviour, and Ecology Stackpole Books,
6. ^ Moose Facts from Maine
7. ^ Moose
8. ^ http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/pubs/notebook/biggame/moose.php
9. ^ Wood, The Guinness Book of Animal Facts and Feats. Sterling Pub Co Inc (1983), ISBN 978-0851122359
10. ^ http://www.motherearthnews.com/Nature-Community/1989-03-01/Of-Moose-Megaloceros-and-Miracles.aspx
11. ^ Moose Reproduction
12. ^ Wolf: Wildlife Notebook Series - Alaska Department of Fish and Game
13. ^ http://www.tigrisfoundation.nl/cms/publish/content/showpage.asp?pageid=25}
14. ^ Estimating Grizzly Bear (Ursus Arctos horribilis) Abundance and Density in
15. ^ Moose: Wildlife Notebook Series - Alaska Department of Fish and Game
16. ^ Brown Bear: Wildlife Notebook Series - Alaska Department of Fish and Game
17. ^ http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin/tpl/Downloads/URSUS/Vol_5/Schwartz_Franzmann_Vol_5.pdf
18. ^ http://www.hww.ca/hww2.asp?id=87
19. ^ Graves, Will (2007). Wolves in Russia: Anxiety throughout the ages. Calgary: Detselig Enterprises. pp. pp.222. ISBN 1550593323. OCLC 80431846. http://www.wolvesinrussia.com/.
20. ^ Watching Wolves On a Wild Ride By Les Line, National Wildlife Federation, December/January 2001, vol. 39 no. 1
21. ^ Alaska Science Forum, June 10, 2004 Are ravens responsible for wolf packs? Article #1702 by Ned Rozell
22. ^ http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c22al.html www.nutritiondata.com
23. ^ All-clear for Finnish foods
24. ^ Vahteristo, L., Lyytikäinen, T., Venäläinen, E. R., Eskola, M., Lindfors, E., Pohjanvirta, R., & Maijala, R. (2003). Cadmium intake of moose hunters in Finland from consumption of moose meat, liver and kidney. Food Additives and Contamination, 20, 453-463.
25. ^ http://wildlife.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=aawildlife.agmoose
26. ^ Number 1, 2004, of Nordic Road & Transport Research. Annotations Sweden
27. ^ Railroad takes steps to reduce moose crashes Aftenposten 28 January 2008
28. ^ Moose-Vehicle Collision Information - New Brunswick Department of Transportation

Further reading

• Alces, a journal devoted to the biology and management of moose (Alces alces)

External links

• Alces alces (TSN 180703). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved on 18 March 2006.
• A moose in the National Nature Park "Losinyj Ostrov" (Elk's Island) in Russia

Categories: IUCN Red List least concern species | Deer | Mammals of Europe | Mammals of Asia | Mammals of Canada | Megafauna of Eurasia | Mammals of the United States | Wildlife of Siberia | Wildlife of the Arctic | Algonquian loanwords | Megafauna of North America | Hunting in the United States | Urban animals

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