Moose, a description of which can be found in almost all reference books for animal lovers, is a large cloven-hoofed mammal belonging to the genus of moose, the deer family.
Experts believe that its name comes from the Old Slavic word "ols", which indicates red hair covering the body of newborn moose. Another common name from ancient times in Russia is the moose - moose. Presumably it arose due to the similarity of its horns with plow.
Where does the moose live?
Description of the moose must begin with its range. These artiodactyls are common in the Northern Hemisphere. By the middle of the 19th century, a large population of dead was almost destroyed in Europe, with the exception of Russia. Thanks to the protective measures taken at the beginning of the 20th century, these artiodactyls again settled Northern and Eastern Europe.
Today these large animals live in the countries of Scandinavia (Norway, Finland), in Belarus, in the north of Ukraine, in Hungary and Poland, in the Baltic countries (Estonia and Latvia), and the Czech Republic. The largest population is in Russia: from the Kola Peninsula to the southern steppes. In North America, moose settled in Canada, Alaska, as well as in the northeastern United States.
Reading the description of the moose in different sources, we can conclude that these animals live in mixed and coniferous forests with swamps, quiet streams and rivers. Aspen and birch forests are preferred in the forest-tundra. Widespread and along the banks of the steppe lakes and rivers - in floodplain thickets. In mountain forests, they settle in valleys and on gentle slopes.
What does an elk look like? Photo and description
Moose is the largest representative of its family. The height of the animal at the withers is from 1.70 to 2.35 meters, body length - 3 meters. The weight of an adult female is 300 kg, and the male is more than six hundred. In appearance, these animals seem awkward: high legs, short body. Animals have powerful shoulders and chest. Legs are long but not thin, muscular with narrow and long hooves. The tail is short but clearly visible.
The head is large and heavy, up to 500 mm long, hunch-bearing. It has large and mobile ears. The slightly swollen upper lip hangs noticeably above the lower lip, and under the throat you can see a soft leathery outgrowth - an “earring”, the length of which can reach 40 cm.
Hair coat
Even a brief description of the animal does not do without the characteristic of wool, which consists of long coarse hairs and softer undercoat. The elk has a fairly long coat. In winter, it grows up to ten centimeters in length. On the neck and withers it is even longer and resembles a mane, up to twenty centimeters long. Sometimes it even seems that the animal has a hump.
The soft hair that covers the head grows even on the lips. Only between the nostrils on the upper lip can a tiny exposed area be seen.
Color
The elk's hair is colored black or brownish-black in the upper torso. It smoothly turns into a brown tint at the bottom. The lower limbs are whitish. In summer, the color of moose darkens.
Horns
Probably everyone who read the description of the moose in the reference literature knows that sax have the largest antlers among all mammals. Their scope reaches 180 cm and their weight is about 20 kg. The horn consists of a wide and short trunk and a flat, slightly concave shovel, surrounded by eighteen processes. In animals of different ages, the length of the processes, their length, and the size of the spade itself are different. The older the moose, the more powerful its horns, the shovel is wider, and the processes are shorter.
One year after birth, small horns grow in moose calves. At first they are very soft, covered with delicate skin and silky hair. The horns are pierced by blood vessels, so in a young animal they hurt when they bite insects and bleed when injured. Two months later, the horns harden, and blood supply ceases in them. In five years, the antlers of an elk (antler) become large and heavy: the spade expands, and the processes become shorter.
Lifestyle
Description of the moose gives reason to argue that these animals prefer a sedentary lifestyle, move around a bit. In search of food, they make small transitions, but for a long time remain in the same locality. In summer, the territory on which moose live and feed is much wider than in winter.
Sukhata leave snow-covered areas. The first to leave the hatched places are moose cows with moose, followed by males, as well as females without offspring. In the reverse order, animals return to their habitat. Moose keep, as a rule, in small groups or singly. Only in winter do they gather in herds in richer feed places. Such places where many individuals accumulate are called a camp in our country, and in Canada, a yard. With the advent of spring, moose again disperse.
