|
Mature males shed their antlers once a year in November/December and replace them with new larger ones. They are formed of living tissue supplied by blood through a network of vessels covered with a soft smooth skin called VELVET. Eventually the tissue solidifies, the velvet is scraped off and the antlers become completely formed of mineralised dead matter. Their main function is for display during the mating season and dominance within the herd. The reindeer/caribou is the only deer species in which both the male and female have antlers. |
|
The dictionary entry for MOOSE is as follows: 1. large North American ruminant mammal of the deer family with very large flattened antlers. [Algonquian language] 2. the European elk. |
|
What IS a Moose? |
|
To contact us: |
|
Phone: 201-991-5556 |
|
--------------------------------------------------- Life span: 20-25 years Body length: 2.5-2.7 metres Moose are large even-toed herbivorous mammals, the largest of the deer family, Cervidae. The latin name for the moose is Alces alces, though there are several further divisions based on geographical location :- Moose vary in size and shape. Even their colour varies from a little brown to a dusty black. The moose has a long nose, drooping lip and a hump at the shoulders. The flap of skin that hangs beneath the throat is called a BELL. Males weigh on average over 500kg and females often more than 400kg. An Alaskan moose discovered in 1897 holds the record for being the largest known modern deer. It was a bull standing 2.34 metres and weighed 816kg. Its RACK (or antler spread) was 199cm. Height at the shoulders generally ranges between 6 ½-7 ½ feet (over 2 metres). Only the males have antlers, massive flattened ones averaging 160cm across and 20kg in weight. These antlers have as many as 30 TINES (or spikes), the shape differing from animal to animal. |
