Moose
Scientific Name: Alces alces
The largest land mammal in New York is hard to misidentify. They are a large ungulate up to 6’ at shoulder height and when full-grown weigh between 500 and 1,500 lbs. Both sexes have brown pelage comprised of a wool-like undercoat and coarse, hollow, overcoat with a short mane between the shoulders. Cows have a lighter face and white patch under the tail and bulls have large antlers from spring to winter that can span 5’ or more in width. They have a massive head, longer front legs, a thick neck, short tail, and a long rectangular face and nose.
Adult size: up to 6’ tall
Weight: 500-1,200 lbs (500-1,100 cows, 600-1,500 bulls)
Life span: 18-23 years but much less (avg 7-8) in the wild
Maturity: about 1.5 years for both genders but most don’t breed until 2.5+
Litter size: 1-3
Fun Fact:
Moose are capable swimmers and can even dive 20’ to forage for aquatic plants!
Diet
Depending on seasonal availability, moose browse on leaves, twigs, and shrubs of willows, birches, maples, balsam fir, viburnums, aspen, and mountain ash. They also eat bark in winter stripping it from trees with their lower teeth. During summer they also feed on aquatic vegetation from wetlands and ponds. Adults may consume 40-60 lbs of vegetation a day.
Habitat
Moose inhabit boreal forests including broadleaf and mixed forests. They prefer mature upland habitats with nearby wetlands and some early successional openings good for foraging.
Behavior
Moose are good swimmers and are often seen in and around water sources where they escape insects, cool off, and forage for aquatic vegetation in summer. Moose are active during the day and especially at dawn and dusk.
Moose are known to “yard up” in small groups during winter in locations with favorable conditions but remain solitary most of the year; with exceptions being mothers with young and sometimes small groups of bulls in the spring and summer that form “satellites”.
Home range sizes are varied from 5 to 50 square miles.
Moose are polygynous and during the rut (breeding season) males compete aggressively with one another for access to females. Moose can run up to 35 mph for short distances and can be dangerous to humans who approach too closely, especially during the rut or a mother with calf.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
The moose rut is from late September to early or mid-October. Females give birth in May or June to usually one or two 20-25 lb calves that will be 300 lbs or more by fall! Unlike deer, newborn moose stay close with their mother who actively defends them. They will remain with the mother their first year.
Population Status
Moose were extirpated from New York State by the late 1800’s. In the late 1980’s a small population (15-20 moose) was known to be present in the Adirondacks. Today the current population there is around 700-800 individuals. Moose are threatened by a combination of factors including climate change, lungworm, brainworm, and liver flukes.
Viewing
Moose in the Adirondacks are often difficult to see, but you may find them on logging roads, edges of early successional habitat, and along wetlands especially at dawn and dusk. The section of the Adirondack Park north of Paul Smiths has been noted as a location with frequent sightings.
Range
The majority of the population is in the Adirondack park but they are also found in the Taconic Highlands along the Vermont and Massachusetts borders.
For more information on Moose in New York please visit the NYSDEC page here.