Large Plant Eaters

Moose

Taxonomy 

Phylum for a moose is Chordate.

Class a moose is in is a mammal. A moose is in the family of cervidae also know as deer. A moose is in the order of artiodactyla. A moose genus is alces. Lastly a moose species is A. alces. 

Evolution 

Subspecies 

• Four subspecies: the Alaska/Yukon moose,The caucasian moose, the western Canada moose and the eastern moose, barren ground caribou, boreal woodland caribou, and amur elk.

Closest living relative

• Elk, white tail deer, mule deer and caribou. 

3 ancestors of species 

• Cervalces scotti, the elk moose or stag-moose, is an extinct species of large deer that lived in North America during the Late Pleistocene epoch. 

How long moose been existence 

• This earliest species of moose known as Weighing Scale Elk was estimated some 2.6 million years ago.

Description  

3 physical descriptions of the animal 

• There are many physical characteristics of a moose. One is that moose have large heads with a large nose and upper lip. Another is that the bulls have antlers that are flat and broad that range between 4 to 5 feet. Moose also have big shoulders giving them a humpback appearance. 

size , weight and lifespan 

• Bull a size around 6 feet tall at the shoulders. They weigh up to 800 to 1,200 pounds and bulls on average live 10 to 12 years, many even reaching 20 years. A cow size is around 5 feet at the shoulders. They weigh 600 to 800 pounds. They live up to 8 to 12 years.

DAY 2

Description of Habitat 

How much rainfall 

• Moose live all across the northern forests of North America, Europe, and Russia. On average in North America the amount of rain each year is around 15-20 inches.

Plants 

• Plants that are in northern North America are maple, beech, oak, hickory, elm, ash, and birch trees. 

Animals 

• Some other animals in this habitat are Canada lynx, black/ brown bear, snowshoe hare, white-tailed deer, beaver, caribou, and sheep.

Temperature 

•  Moose like colder temperatures. The average temperature in the winter generally stays around -4° . Summers are short and stay at about 50°. Moose dislike anything above 50 degrees, and will begin overheating around 60 degrees.

Terrain 

• A moose lives in forests and places with water like rivers, streams and ponds. 

Distribution

Continents found 

• Moose are  all across the northern forests of North America, Europe, and Russia.

Invasive at all 

• Moose are not an invasive species but they have been migrating south to places like Colorado and are reproducing rapidly becoming an invasive species in that area.  

Diet 

What does it eat 

•  Moose are herbivores, they only eat plants. They eat leaves and twigs. Some of these plants are Willow, aspen, birch, maple, pin cherry, and mountain ash.

How often does it eat 

• moose  eat several times a day. In the summer a moose can eat up to 40-60 pounds a day. In the winter they eat less since there are less plants.  Moose have digestive systems similar to cows. They are ruminants and have four parts to their stomachs.

How does it get its food 

• Moose  browse to get their food. They can walk 5-10 miles a day walking to find more leaves and brush to eat. 

Any special foods

• No moose only eats leaves and brushes.

DAY 3

Social structure

Live in packs or solo 

• They are solo animals. 

Roles within community 

• Moose eat a lot of plants which play a big role in keeping plant population down. Moose also spread the seeds for more plants to grow. Without moose the plant population would overgrow. 

Male or female led groups 

• No lead group since solo animal.

What would happen if a moose ran into another moose 

• Bull moose will not fight each other if they run into each other unless it is during a rut. If rut is happening two bulls will fight with their antlers and the first to escape the fight wins. 

How do they interact with each other 

• Moose are solo animals so they tend to keep to themselves. Moose really only interact with other moose when food is scarce in the winter. They will also interact with each other during the rut. Rut is when a moose reproduces. 

Reproduction 

How often do they mate

• Bulls mate up to 25 times a year. Cows mate once a year. Bulls can mate up to 12 years where cows can mate up to 6 years. 

How many mates do they have 

• Bulls have several mates in their lifetime. They don't have the same mate every year. They can mate up to 12 years. Cows have a different mate every year and they can have up to 6 calves. 

Time of year for mating 

• Moose mate in late September 

Mating rituals 

• Bulls compete for mating. Cows usually want a Bull with larger antlers and is bigger. The bulls' antlers and size of bull shows dominance. Bulls fight for cows and use their antlers to see who is stronger. Bulls will also dig rutting pits which are called wallows. They dig wallows for the cows. Once they dig a wallow the cows will urinate in it to attract cows for mating. 

Number of offspring produced at a time 

• Cows can give birth to one to two calves each year. They give birth around May so moose are pregnant for 9 months of the year. 

Any unique characteristics of their mating 

• They dig Wallow holes for mating.

Development 

Stages of development 

• First the baby moose is called a calf. The mother takes care of the calf for about a year. The next stage is called juvenile; this is when bulls start to grow antlers. The next stage is called prime breeder. This stage is when the calves leave their mother and start breeding themself. This state both bulls and cows grow bigger and stronger and can fend for themself. The last stage is called seniors this stage is when they are fully mature and are stronger and older than younger moose 

How old before sexualy maturity 

• A cow can reproduce a calf when they are just two years old. A bulls can start reproducing around three years old 

Activities and environment of stages 

• The baby calf stays with mom for first year and does not switch enviroment. After a year the calf will leave its mother and become indepentant. 

Difference between males and females 

• Bulls are a little bit larger than cows. Bulls also have antlers where cows have a hump on their shoulders. Bull moose will grow a beard when they get older or ill.

Day 4 

Cause of death 

Predation 

• Predators that can kill a moose are black bears, grizzly bears, wolves and sometimes wolverines. Many animals struggle to kill a moose since they are very strong and big. 

Sexual competition 

• Males will fight with their antlers to show dominance and fight for a mate. Whoever gets away first wins the fight and the territory. 

Disease 

• Some diseases moose have are Brainworm, or Meningeal worm. This is spread through fecal matter. Some symptoms are weakness, hearing loss , sight loss and lack of movement. 

Other causes 

• Hunting is another cause of death for moose. Since the moose population is so high, the amount of moose killed from hunting does not affect the population. Hunters harvest over 7,000 moose in Alaska of the population of 175,000 moose each year. 

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Competition 

Inter species

• Moose compete with snowshoe hare 

Intra species 

• Some intra species are elk, caribou, and deer. 

What do they compete over 

• Bull moose usually compete over cows and territory and they only fight over territory if there are cow moose in that territory. 

Effect of invasive species 

• There are invasive species where moose live but they really dont affect moose.

Iucn rating 

What is the rating

• Moose are in the least concerned category for the red list. 

Population 

• The population of moose in the world is 1.5 million. The moose population is very steady.

Population trend 

• In the last few years the moose population has been going down a little because of climate change. The numbers of moose are still very high so the numbers going down will not be a concern. 

Impact of humans 

What impact have occurred

• Humans have had a big impact on moose in the last few decades. One of the biggest impacts is cutting down forests and building homes and cities on these forests. The next biggest impact is building highways. The issue with highways in places like Alaska is that when you're in the middle of nowhere and now there are a bunch of highways then moose are being hit. Climate change is an effect. Because of climate change there have been a lot of forest fires where moose live causing them to be killed or migrate somewhere else. Another issue with climate change is that it is heating the earth up. This is an issue for moose because they  struggle to deal with temperatures above 50 degrees.

Potential future impacts 

• If we don't stop building cities in forests where these animals live then the moose will have to migrate somewhere else. Moose also will be affected by climate change if we didn't start trying to control climate change. Moose cant live in warm weather and if the earth just keeps getting warmer then the moose population will decrease rapidly fast. 

How long have humans been interacting with species 

• The first moose was noticed in northeastern Montana on 10 May 1805, when, according to Joseph Whitehouse, the hunters claimed to have seen “some Moose deer, which they said was considerably larger than the common deer.”

Efforts being made to minimize impact

• One way people try to not affect moose death is putting up fences so moose don't get hit by cars. Another way is people are trying to control climate change.