Moose is the largest of the deer species and lives in northern regions of North America, Europe, and Asia. You’d think that baby moose would be huge as well but they are not. They are tiny when they’re born.
Moose are generally solitary with the strongest bonds between mother and calf. They rarely gather in groups, but there may be several in close proximity during the mating season.
The average life span of a moose is about 15–25 years.
It’s not easy being a baby moose. Plenty of predators prey on them, especially in early weeks after being born, when they are weak and slow and have to stay hidden the whole time. The main causes of death for baby moose are predators like black and brown bears, cougars and wolves and parasites like liver flukes, brain worms and winter tick.
Believe it or not, killer whales prey on moose as well when they’re swimming between islands out of North America’s Northwest Coast.
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What Are Baby Moose Called?
Baby moose are called calves and are usually born in May or June. Baby moose are only cared for by the mother, known as a cow. The male moose is called bull.
Baby moose will remain with their mother until the cow is fertile again (typically at 18 months after the birth of the calf), at which point the cow chases away young bulls.
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What Do Baby Moose Look Like?
Baby moose have reddish-brown fur and are cold-adapted with thickened skin, dense, heat-retaining coat, and a low surface to volume ratio. They are born with huge ears and big brown eyes just like baby deer.
When Are Baby Moose Born?
All of the baby moose are born in May or June and will stay with their mother until just before the next young are born.
What Do Baby Moose Sound Like?
Moose make a variety of sounds. The bull moose grunts and snorts during the mating season. Cow moose moans, wails, moos, and the baby moose coos just to name a few.
How Much Does A Baby Moose Weigh?
A single born baby moose calf will weigh around 30 pounds while twins will weigh somewhat less at about 14 pounds.
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What Do Baby Moose Eat?
Baby moose are eating their mother’s milk for the first five months when they are weaned and are starting to eat real
Although their name in native american language means “twig eater“, moose eat more than just twigs of course, otherwise they wouldn’t get so big; up to 1,800 pounds (820 kilograms) big.
Moose are excellent swimmers which is a good thing when half of your diet is aquatic plants like lilies and pondweed. Moose have been known to dive over 18 feet (5.5 m) to reach plants on lake bottoms!
Moose are browsers and not grazers and they carefully select foods with less fiber and more concentrations of nutrients. Just like a giraffe.
When Do Baby Moose Grow Antlers?
Only male baby moose will grow antlers. The antlers will start to grow rapidly in the spring, usually in April. They grow so fast that moose’s antlers can gain eight inches in nine days!
Cattle, sheep, and goats grow and keep their horns, so why do moose shed their antlers every winter?
Antlers are made of bone and keratin and are not fused to their skull and their growth is regulated by testosterone. Moose antlers can weigh up to 60 pounds (27 kg). An Alaskan moose holds the record for the heaviest weight at 79 pounds (36 kg). The widest spread recorded was a whopping 83 inches (210 cm) across.
Losing so much weight before winter makes moose’s life much easier and allows it to store more energy for tough times ahead.
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Baby Moose Photos
