Moose

Alces americanus

Population, Conservation Status, Threats:

While moose are currently classified least concern by the IUCN, they are increasingly threatened by climate change. Moose are ill-equipped to survive rising temperatures, as well as being burdened by increasing parasite loads. Ticks and parasitic nematodes known as brain worms are among their biggest parasitic threats.

Physical Description:

Moose are the largest deer species in Colorado, standing up to six feet tall at the shoulder. Their fur is thick and dark brown, and males posses large, palmate antlers. Both sexes have a dewlap on their throat, although it is larger in males.

Colorado moose range from the Colorado Division of Wildlife. Moose are found in alpine to subalpine riparian habitats in the Colorado rocky mountains.

Habitat:

As moose rely on trees and shrubs as their main food source, they are often found in densely forested areas in the mountains. They are also common in riparian areas, especially those with large willow populations.

Behavior:

Adult moose are solitary and wide-ranging, moving seasonally to better habitat.

Diet:

Moose are browsers, and generally do not feed on grasses but shrubs and trees. Their height allows them to reach leaves and bark that other browsers cannot get to, and their surprisingly good swimming skills allow them to forage aquatic plants from the bottoms of ponds and riverbeds.

Reproduction:

Bull moose develop antlers to use in inter-male competition during the autumn mating season. Cows give birth to one to two calves per pregnancy, and the young stay with their mothers for one to two years before striking out on their own.

Associated Species:

Moose and mountain beaver share similar high-elevation wetland habitat, both relying upon water plants and willows as a large food source. Bears and wolves are some of the only animals large enough to commonly predate upon moose, and even they are primarily a threat to young or sick individuals. Parelaphostrongylus tenuis, a parasitic nematode that normally lives asymptomatically in white-tailed deer, can infect moose and cause neurological disease and death.

Illustration by Willow Sedam

Sources: https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Mammals/Moose, https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=moose.main, https://cpw.state.co.us/learn/Pages/LivingwithWildlifeMoose.aspx, https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/wildlife/species-information/mammals/moose.html https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/72211.html

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse