Canadian Moose

Canadian moose have a large body, dark brown to blackish hair, a long square face and a bell of skin and hair under the throat. Only males have antlers up to 7ft in width. Of the three moose subspecies in North America, the Canadian moose, Shiras moose and Alaska-Yukon moose, only the middle-sized Canadian moose is found in BCTMO Conservation Club's guide territory.

Moose are the largest member of the deer family. All of the three subspecies of moose are similar in appearance, but the Shiras moose in southeastern BC have the smallest bodies and antlers. The biggest moose are found in northern British Columbia.
Moose have long, slim legs, cloven hooves, which can be 7” long, and dewclaws which can spread wide. This helps help them to travel easily and almost silently through fallen timber, muskeg and deep snow that would stop a deer or wolf.
Heavily muscled shoulders create a humped appearance. Canadian moose are solidly built, their large forequarters narrowing to slender hindquarters.
Moose have a heavy, compact head, with a long Roman nose and a highly flexible upper lip. Most BC moose, both male and female, have a bell which can be up to a foot long below from the throat.
British Columbia moose of all subspecies vary in colour. They can be dark brown, almost black, reddish or greyish brown, with grey or white leg "stockings”. All of these colour variations are seen in the Canadian moose in our territory.
In the fall, adult cow moose weigh between 750 and 950 lb, adult bull moose weigh 1000 to 1300 lbs. Adult bull moose are almost 7' tall at the shoulder.
In late summer and fall, adult bull moose's antlers may extend up to 7' between the widest tips but that are more likely to span between 45 and 59”. Spreads in our territory reach up to 55”. Canadian moose have heavy main beams that broaden into large palms, fringed with spikes usually less than a foot long. The antlers are light in colour and in some moose appear almost white. Some bull calves develop button antlers during their first year. Each year the antlers start growing in April or May. While growing, they are soft, spongy, full of blood vessels and covered in velvet. They are fully developed by late August or early September when they become hard and bony. Bulls rub the dried velvet off against tree trunks. Mature bulls usually shed their antlers in November, but some younger bulls may still carry them until April. Yearling bulls have spike antlers, and the antlers of two-year-olds are larger, usually flat at the ends.
The eyesight of the Canadian moose is extremely poor, but its senses of smell and hearing compensate.
Hunting moose in October during the rut is an exciting time, with lots of bull moose, cow and calf viewing opportunities. At this time of year, we call the bull moose and is a great opportunity to harvest a large mature bull. In November, the bull moose are moving into their wintering grounds and are often found in bachelor groups resting up after the rut.

Moose inhabit rocky, wooded hillsides of mountain ranges; on the edges of lakes, muskegs, and streams of the great boreal forests, on the northern tundra and in the aspen parkland of the prairies showing their adaptability to different terrains.
Willow is a preferred food source of Canadian moose and so they inhabit willow-rich valleys or other areas where good forage exists close to forest cover. As they only forage on browse less than 8' tall, areas of land several years after a wildfire are perfect food sources for Canadian moose. As part of our moose conservation, we prune areas of preferential moose habitat after a burn to keep them below 8' and suitable for moose.
Moose are found throughout northern North America, from Alaska, across Canada, to the northeastern United States and the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. In British Columbia, moose inhabit almost the entire interior, particularly the central and subboreal interior, the northern boreal mountains and the boreal plains of northeastern BC.
Since the 1700s, increased settlement in Canada has caused considerable shifts in moose distribution. They are now found in many regions where moose were previously unknown. Moose are constantly moving northwards to less human inhabited areas through the sparse transition forest to the open tundra.

Canadian moose are generally solitary animals that move between summer and winter ranges. In British Columbia Canadian moose usually migrate between winter ranges in valley bottoms where they feed on willows and higher-elevation summer ranges but some moose have been known to stay in their valley ranges all year long.  In expansive northern shrub lands, moose commonly form groups of eight to ten moose. But this behaviour is very rare in forested habitats where space is more limited. Sometimes they form small groups, such as the post-rut bull moose bachelor groups, but these lack a social base. The cow-calf moose bond is the longest lasting of all moose bonds, but this lasts only one year.
The moose rut is normally between September and November. In our guide territory, the prime bull moose rut hunting window is in October. High ranking bull moose of equal size lock antlers and engage in shoving matches. These fights test the bull moose and determine their superiority so that the females can choose their mates. More than 80% of moose calves are conceived during the cows' first estrus period in late September and early October. The cow moose that don't conceive in this first period have second and third estrus periods in 25-day intervals.
After an eight month pregnancy, cow moose give birth in late May and June. Normally, cow moose have single births, but in some cases cows have twins. Very rarely, triplets might be born. However, poor food supply drops pregnancy rates by 50 percent, and almost no twin births are observed.
Moose calves are tiny and poorly coordinated at birth. Twins weigh about 13 lbs each, singles between 25 and 35 lbs. Moose calves are completely helpless at birth and need to be kept hidden by their mothers for a couple of days, hidden from threats such as cougar and wolf predation. The calf moose gains weight the fastest of all the North American big game species. In their first month, a calf moose may gain a pound a day, and for a period in the summer may gain up to four pounds a day. Their period of helplessness doesn't last long, by the time they are a few days old, they can outrun a human and already swim well. Moose calves will stay with their mother until she has her next calf the following spring. At that time she drives away her yearlings and they are ready to fend for themselves.
Canadian moose are particularly well adapted for the cold, but this means they can suffer from the heat. During the summer, moose will cool off in water for several hours a day. Moose are highly adept in water, sometimes diving 18 ft for plants that grow on a lake or pond bottom and can swim up to 12 miles. Moose calves can follow their mothers on a long swim even while very young.
Frightened moose may crash noisily through the underbrush, but their great size doesn't stop even full-grown, antlered bull moose moving almost silently through the densest of forest. Before moose bed down, they usually travel upwind and turn back in a partial circle. This means the moose will be aware of any approaching predators following its track as they will have to approach from upwind. This alerts the moose to the presence of a predator and they can quickly and stealthily make their escape. It takes a skilled hunter to know when to leave the track and work upwind to the moose's hiding place.
At birth, a moose calf makes a low grunting noise, but this develops to a human-like wail after a few days. During the moose rut, the cow moose entices a mate with a nasal-toned bawling, this is the tone we use to entice a bull during our rut hunts. The bull responds with a coughing bellow.

Canadian moose are herbivores that eat a variety of foods including twigs, bark, roots and woody shoots from plants like willows and aspens. During the summer, moose also feed on water plants such as water lilies, pond weed and horsetails. Moose eat 55 to 65 lbs of green weight a day in the summer and in winter 35 to 45 lbs. In BC, moose primarily feed on willows, red-osier dogwood, cotton wood, paper birch, aspen, high-bush cranberry, false box and sub-alpine fir in the winter. In our territory, willows are a particular favourite of the Canadian moose. During the winter, moose greatly limit their activity to save energy and eat a reduced amount of food when less is available. Immediately before spring, food is at its most scarce and this is when moose will strip bark from trees such as poplars.
Salt licks are very important for moose in June and July, when they feed heavily on leaves and other lush plant growth. At this time, they need supplementary minerals from the salt licks.

Black bears and wolves prey on moose which means our predator control hunts can have a big impact on our moose populations. Black bears and grizzly bears prey heavily on moose calves during the first few weeks of life, and grizzly bears can easily kill adult moose. Moose, especially calves, are the principal prey of most wolves in Canada. As the easiest prey, wolves kill many moose calves but will take adult moose year round. To hunt a healthy adult moose is difficult and often dangerous for wolves. A moose's defence is to kick or strike which often causes broken bones and even death in wolves that only kill about one moose in every twelve they attack. Wolf will work together as a pack in winter to hunt moose. Deep crusted snow or a smooth ice are conditions where wolves have the upper hand and can bring down a moose. Wolverines have also been known to prey on moose calves occasionally. Cougars also take a substantial number of moose calves and yearlings. This is true in our guide territory, again highlighting the importance of good predator management for ungulate enhancement. Few moose die of old age.