Alaskan Moose
All About the Alaskan Moose
The Alaskan moose is found in nearly all areas of Alaska. He is larger than any moose found in Russia or Europe. They will be found in Alaska from the Stikine River to the Colville River. If there are areas that have recently burned, moose will generally find their way there. They enjoy eating birch and willow, and they also graze along plateaus of timber and along the rivers of Interior and South-central Alaska.
Moose have long legs and heavy bodies, and they have a droopy nose with a bell (also called a dewlap) under their chin. They have smaller tails than one would think, for their size. Their colors range from black brown to golden brown, and the individual color depends on the age of the animal and the season of the year.
Newborn Alaskan moose calves weigh about thirty-five pounds, and they will grow to three hundred pounds within a few months. Males in good condition can weigh from twelve hundred to sixteen hundred pounds. The females weigh less, usually between eight hundred and thirteen hundred pounds.
In North America, the largest moose antlers come from the Northwest Territories of Canada, the Yukon Territory and Alaska. There are trophy bulls almost anywhere in Alaska, but most of them are found in western Alaska.
The female Alaskan moose, or “cow”, begin breeding at a little over two years of age. Some may be bred when they are only sixteen to eighteen months old. Calves can be born from May through June. A cow usually gives birth to a single calf, or twins. Triplets occur only very rarely. The female moose will defend her calf fiercely.
Calves can be eating solid food within a few days after they are born. The cow weans them in the fall, right when the mothers begin breeding again. After about a year, a moose calf will be forced away by its mother, before she gives birth to her next calf.
Alaskan moose breed in autumn, with most of the rutting taking place in September and October. Bull moose joust with each other during the rutting season, with their antlers clashing together. The fights actually aren't usually as fierce as they look, and life-threatening injuries are rare.
Moose have played a role in Alaska's development as a state. Hunters used to supply meat from the moose to mining camps. All the parts of the moose are used by Alaskan Indians.
Hunters in the state usually harvest about six to eight thousand Alaskan moose per hunting season. This equates to about three million pounds of meat. Moose are also one of the highlights of Alaskan travel. Thousand of tourists snap photos of them every year. They especially enjoy watching the rutting battles.