As you’ve probably guessed from the title of my blog today, I’m a little excited the moose are back! Last summer, we had the pleasure of watching them up until October and then hadn’t seen any on our place since. Well, last week they started moseying through our place again!
They are some of the most interesting animals to watch. And BIG! They have odd shaped heads with really long legs and barrels for bodies. Our Alaska moose are some of the biggest and a bull moose can reach upwards of 1,300 lbs and stand 6 1/2 ft tall at the shoulder. We got to watch some of last years calves go down on their knees to get a tasty morsel because their legs are so long and next short they could not reach it otherwise.
Moose are browsers, they do not graze on grass, but rather prefer eat birch trees, shrubs, and brush. They grab hold of a branch and strip the tree of it leaves. Moose also like to fish for tender aquatic plants.
Moose are great swimmers! They have been know to dive underwater to reach plants on lake bottoms. Their unique nose is equipped with fatty pads and muscles that close the nostrils when exposed to the pressure of the water which prevents water entering. I once read that a moose dove 15 ft down in order to fish aquatic plants from the bottom of a lake.
A cow moose typically only has one calf in May or June. But if food is plentiful, she may have twins. Cow moose can be very protective and dangerous when they have little ones around. We give them a wide birth. But the rest of the year they are fairly relaxed and non aggressive unless provoked or feel threatened. Over the weekend, I was working on my raised garden beds that I hope to share with you and a lone cow moose decide to wander up and see what I was doing. She got with in 30 ft of me. Sure made me nervous, but it was amazing! With all animals, we need to make sure we give them their space and it will keep us both safe!
Last summer we had two cows, one with twins and one with a single calf, and a young bull and cow pair that frequented our property. This summer, I am anxious to see the Mama’s come back with their new little babies in tow and last years calves!
