Moose

                                    

                                          

The moose (pl.: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (pl.: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in ) (Alces alces) is the world's tallest,  and heaviest   of  and the  in the genus Alces. It is also the tallest, and the second-largest,  in , falling short only of the  in body mass. Most adult male moose have broad, palmate ("open-hand shaped") ; other members of the deer family have pointed antlers with a dendritic ("twig-like") configuration. Moose inhabit the   or  of the , thriving in cooler,  areas as well as subarctic climates. 


 Predominantly a , the moose's diet consists of both terrestrial and aquatic vegetation, depending on the season, with branches, twigs and dead wood making up a large portion of their winter diet.  of moose include , , ,  (rarely, though may take calves), and (rarely, if swimming in the ocean) . Unlike most other deer species, moose do not form herds and are , aside from calves who remain with their mother until the cow begins  again (typically 18 months after the birth of a calf). At this point, the cow chases their calf away. Although generally slow-moving and sedentary, moose can become defensively aggressive, and move very quickly if angered or startled.  in the autumn features energetic fights between males competing for a female.




On average, an adult moose stands 1.4–2.1 m (4 ft 7 in – 6 ft 11 in) high at the shoulder, which is more than 30 centimetres (1 ft) higher than the next-largest deer on average, the . The tail is short (6 cm to 8 cm in length) and vestigial in appearance; unlike other ungulates the moose tail is too short to swish away insects. Males (or "bulls") normally weigh from 380 to 700 kg (838 to 1,543 lb) and females (or "cows") typically weigh 200 to 490 kg (441 to 1,080 lb), depending on racial or clinal as well as individual age or nutritional variations. The head-and-body length is 2.4–3.1 m (7 ft 10 in – 10 ft 2 in), with the vestigial tail adding only a further 5–12 cm (2–4 1⁄2 in). The largest of all the races is the Alaskan subspecies (A. a. gigas), which can stand over 2.1 m (6 ft 11 in) at the shoulder, has a span across the antlers of 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) and averages 634.5 kg (1,399 lb) in males and 478 kg (1,054 lb) in females. Typically, however, the antlers of a mature bull are between 1.2 and 1.5 m (3 ft 11 in and 4 ft 11 in). The largest confirmed size for this species was a bull shot in September 1897 that weighed 820 kg (1,808 lb) and measured 2.33 m (7 ft 8 in) high at the shoulder.


After the mating season males drop their antlers to conserve energy for the winter. A new set of antlers will then regrow in the spring. Antlers take three to five months to fully develop, making them one of the fastest growing animal organs. Antler growth is "nourished by an extensive system of blood vessels in the skin covering, which contains numerous hair follicles that give it a 'velvet' texture." This requires intense grazing on a highly-nutritious diet.