Western moose facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Western moose |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
Scientific classification  |
|
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Cervidae |
| Subfamily: | Capreolinae |
| Genus: | Alces |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: |
A. a. andersoni
|
| Trinomial name | |
| Alces alces andersoni Peterson, 1952
|
|
The Western moose (Alces alces andersoni) is a type of moose. It lives in the cool boreal forests and mixed deciduous forests. You can find them in parts of northern Canada and the northern United States. It's the second biggest moose in North America. Only the Alaskan moose is larger. Wolves and bears sometimes hunt these moose. Male Western moose can be very protective during mating season.
Contents
Where Western Moose Live
The Western moose lives in many places. These include British Columbia, eastern Yukon, and the Northwest Territories. You can also find them in southwestern Nunavut, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. They live in western Ontario too. In the United States, they are found in the upper peninsula of Michigan. They also live in northern Wisconsin, northern Minnesota, and northeastern North Dakota.
Moose in Nova Scotia and New Zealand
Between 1947 and 1949, some Western moose were moved. Parks Canada took eighteen moose from Elk Island National Park. They moved them to Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Highlands National Park. This was done to help the moose population grow there. The moose on Cape Breton Island today are from these original Western moose.
Western moose were also brought to New Zealand's Fiordland National Park.
What Western Moose Eat
Western moose eat plants that grow on land. This includes forbs (flowering plants) and young shoots. They like shoots from willow and birch trees. They also eat plants that grow in water. These include lilies and pondweed.
A Western moose can eat a lot! They can consume up to 9,770 calories a day. This is about 32 kilograms (71 lb) of food. Like other moose, they don't have upper front teeth. Instead, they have eight sharp incisors on their lower jaw. They also have a strong tongue, gums, and lips. These help them chew tough, woody plants.
Size and Weight of Western Moose
Male Western moose are quite tall. They stand about 1.9 to 2.0 metres (6.2 to 6.6 ft) at the shoulder. Their antlers can spread wide. They measure about 1.5 to 1.7 metres (4.9 to 5.6 ft) across. Males usually weigh between 380–720 kilograms (840–1,590 lb).
Female Western moose are a bit smaller. They stand about 1.8 metres (5 ft 11 in) tall on average. Females typically weigh between 270 to 360 kilograms (600 to 790 lb).
Social Life and Reproduction
.jpg)
Western moose usually live alone. They only meet to mate or to fight over a mate. During mating season, male moose can be very aggressive. They might charge at anything, including humans. They also challenge other animals like coyotes, wild boars, and bears.
Male moose use quiet calls to attract females. They also use these calls to tell other males they are in the area. Sometimes, two male moose will fight over a female. Their antlers can get tangled together. If this happens, both moose often die because they cannot eat.
Female Western moose usually have one or two calves at a time. A mother moose will protect her calves fiercely. When calves are about 10 to 11 months old, their mothers send them away. The young moose then learn to live on their own.
Hunting Western Moose
There are about 950,000 Western moose. People hunt them every autumn and winter. This happens in both Canada and the United States. The number of moose that can be hunted changes each year. This depends on how many moose are in an area. It also depends on how many hunters were successful the year before.
