By the mooses body proportions, antlers’ shape and size, and its demeanor, the moose is the mighty symbol of the boreal and subartic zones of the entire northern hemisphere. To describe moose country, it is variously dense mixed forest, called taiga or “norhtern brush,” but the other parts are open “forest tundra”The climate differs from zone to zone, and woodland moose prefer only the zones where the average summer tempeture does not much exeed sixty degrees. Wind chill help the moose to stay cool in the costal and the relatively humid zones, as well as in the much drier interior. But the moose has had to adapt both to humid and dry climates, and to dense and open habiats. In North America we refer to this animal as the moose; however, through out continental Erurope, it has been known to them as the “elk”.
The scientific name for it is, Acles acles, also translates in to British English as “elk”. For North Americans this has been a source of confusion, as the name “elk” is also given to another member of the deer family. But common names living things differ from region to region, from country to country. The moose towering above with its massive head it surveys the surrounding land. The moose raises its snout with its huge nostrils, to check for any unfamiliar scents of unseen danger.
The moose standing at over six feet tall at the shouldersand weighing over one thousand pounds, this animal comands respect. Its neck streches for reach of tender shrubs nearby. Although moose lack teeth in the front of the upper jaw, they have little trouble dealing with woody plnat material that constitues much of their diet. They feed on fresh leaves by browsing and may even pull a shoot sideways in there mouth, freaquently stripping off up to two feet in vegitation with aid of the tonuge.
They also browse the tips of twigs, particularly the most recent growth. Regardless of how it is attained, the plant material is thoroughly crushed between twleve sets of broad, flattened teeth at the rear of its mouth, six pairs of molars and six pairs of pemolars. . .
Although many different plants are eaten by moose, the type consumed depends on availability, both geographically and seasonally. In general, preferred trees and shrubs include willows, trmbling aspen, redosier dogwood, red maple, stripped maple, white birch, beaked hazelnut, pin cherry and, primarily in winter, balsam fir. Aquatic plants, particulary water sheild, yellow pond lily, and poundweed, constitue a prefered and important part of the moose’s diet in the summer.Bibliography:
