"ASK US" Program


 

Anything you want to know about moose...

ASK US!!!

e-mail: moose@atcnet.net

We have an awesome network of scientists and biologists that are willing to help!

HERE ARE SOME RESPONSES FROM PLEASED PARTICIPANTS....

A.M., Colorado:   "Thanks for the quick response to my questions about moose. And I want to say that I am impressed with your biologists as well for the quick response they also made."   

R.D., England:   "Thank you for your comments."  

G.M., Arizona:   "I appreciate your patience, concern, and willingness to help. We are lucky to have people like you who are willing to donate their time to conservation."   

M.B., California:   "Thank you VERY much for all the assistance. That's a lot of effort just to answer a guy who got curious."   

F.S.R., Idaho: "Congratulations on your efforts on behalf of the wonderful Moose out there."  

R.K., Canada:   "Thanks for you help. Dr. Crichton got back to me and had some good information to help me out."

R.S., Manitoba, Canada:   "I really appreciate the information...if at any time I can help the MOOSE, please let me know, I am always willing to help in any way that I can." 

S.M., Maine:   "Thank you for looking into this. I will pass the answer on to the Head of Nature at Camp O-AT-KA in Maine."   

J.M., Indiana:   "I am writing just to say Thank You! for helping me with this project. It is very much appreciated!"

T.G., Montana:   "I read about your organization on the website and found it very interesting." 

 


QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

All the questions on our "Ask Us" Program are answered by Moose Biologist.

True or False:

Q: Moose shed velvet on their antlers in January.

A: False (September or even late August to early October)

Q: The Moose's Vertebrae range from 109 to 122 inches in length.

A: True

Question and Answer:

Q: How many bones does a moose have?    Steve M.

A: At least 96 based on some diagrams.

Q: How many moose live in North America?    Seba

A: About 1 million in North America, half a million in Scandinavia and another half million in Russia. World estimate is between 2.5 and 3 million.

Q: What is the "Bell" for?    Darren & Cheri

A: First of all it enables biologists to sex them from aircraft once antlers are dropped - that of the males is greatly different than that of the females. I am convinced that its use is related to the breeding season when bulls make wallows during the breeding season and subsequently urinate in these they splash their front feet in the urine and swing the head back and forth. The urine penetrated the hair of the bell and remains here. Urine from bulls is especially attractive to cows. Cows will rub/nuzzle the bell of the bull.

Q: I'm interested in how to avoid collisions with moose and wonder whether their eyes shine back like deer do when looking at headlights?         Fred

A: For the record, Moose eyes do shine in the headlight -- absolutely no doubt about it. Even when you use a flash light as I did about a month ago while in a canoe and had a cow waling 50 feet from myself for 500 yards, and when the light hit her eyes they were like small beacons.

Q: How high is a moose able to jump?    Nancy

A: I once saw a large bull moose come up to a small stream that had a sharp drop off to the water that was down about 3 feet he stopped at the edge, he leaned back a little and then sprang across the creek which was about a 6-8 foot jump. I have also seen them go over a 7 foot high fence.


HOW LOW CAN YOU GO?

 

Did you know that Moose swim and dive?

When recently asked the question, “How deep can Moose dive?” we received wonderful information from our Volunteer Team of Distinguished Moose Biologists. Here are their answers:

“When feeding on submerged aquatic vegetation Moose occasionally dive for plants in water over 18 feet deep.” ...”the average length of submergence was slightly under 30 seconds”... and the “longest time actually checked was 50 seconds.” *

“This question about how deep Moose will dive to feed on aquatic plants seems to ((pardon the pun) resurface from time to time but there is little evidence to indicate how deep they actually dive. Kris Hundertmark, (formerly of the Kenai Moose Research Center), looked at this question....and traced the claim that Moose dive to a depth of 18 feet back to Randolph Peterson’s classic text “ North American Moose”... was misquoted.” He just said that Moose “submerged in water that was 18 feet deep.”

“I suppose the assumption folks have made is that the aquatic plants are growing on the bottom and to get them, moose would have to dive that far down. However, 18 feet is too far down for any sunlight to penetrate for plant growth and any plants growing in these deep waters would have to have long shoots extending toward the surface to survive-thus moose would not have to dive to the bottom to et the leafy material. My own experience has been that moose generally feed on aquatic plants in water less than 2 meters (about 6 feet) deep, where vegetation is most abundant.” ** 

If you see Moose swimming, be sure to contact the Moose Foundation and tell us about your sighting! We’d love to hear your story! Send pictures!!

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