FIGHTING
How to describe the image of two mature bulls fighting? Incredibly
impressive raw power. With as much as 1,500 pounds of infuriated
beast on either side, two combating bull moose make for one
of the most awesome displays of strength in nature.
Most fights start with each bull
stiffly gesturing to his opponent. With a threatening stare,
ears laid back and the hair on his back standing on end, each
bull will approach the other at a slow, quartering walk while
tipping his antlers from side to side. This is an attempt to
intimidate and scare off the other bull, all the while allowing
enough time to size up his challenger.
If neither animal backs down and
their antlers smash together, each bull becomes enraged in battle.
Injury is common; sometimes antlers are broken and hides are
cut open. In rare instances, the antlers can become locked,
dooming both animals to starvation or the mercy of predators.
Fights between breeding bulls are usually brief and intense,
with the victor chasing the fleeing loser for a short distance.
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| HUNTER
TIPS |
| Finding
two mature bull moose fighting, or about to fight,
is a rare occurrence; consider yourself lucky to
witness this ancient test of dominance. What happens
next depends on whether you’re holding a bull
tag. |
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| Hunting
the tending time can be challenging. Calling isn’t
likely to work with mature bulls, as they’re
probably already with a cow in heat. And if you’re
hunting in an area that may have other hunters,
it’s not a good idea to stalk in after a call
you heard—it just might be coming from one
of those other hunters. In such cases your best
bet is to set up your watch and start calling in
a location with active moose sign. Any lone bulls
in the area should come to investigate. |
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| If
you have the rare opportunity to observe moose mating,
sit back and be a silent spectator. Few people have
seen such wonders in wild places. |
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TENDING
There are essentially four subspecies of moose in Canada, and
the members of the largest group (northern Canada’s Alces
alces gigas) behave quite differently from the other three subspecies
during tending time. Namely, the cows in this group search out
the bulls rather than the other way around. Blame it on the
North’s relatively open terrain—and a significantly
shorter fall season to accommodate breeding.
Bulls inhabiting this northernmost moose
habitat grow larger, wider and whiter antlers than their somewhat
smaller relatives to the south and east. Those with the widest
(up to 77 inches), most reflective racks catch the eyes of the
most cows at a greater distance. This allows most fit bulls
to have a collective, or harem, of up to a dozen or so cows
in close company, all vying for his attention. In fact, if more
than one of those cows come into heat at the same time, they’ll
stand on their hind legs and fight each other with their front
hooves. The winner gets first dibs on the bull.
With all other moose in Canada,
though, the bull will track through the woods—with his
narrower, more manoeuvrable rack—and search out an individual
cow in estrus. The pair will mate several times before the cow’s
heat has finished and the bull heads off looking for another
receptive female. (This pairing approach is the same with most
other members of the deer family, except for elk, which have
true harems.) During the couple of days that the cow is in heat,
the tending bull will stay very close to her and chase off all
other males. If an even bigger bull shows up, the tending bull
will either head for the hills or remain and fight.
MATING
Moose lovin’. The experience of my first sighting of the
act itself—a 1,500-pound bull mounting a cow just 20 yards
in front of me (see photos)—will stick with me for the
rest of my days. And this when it was so shockingly brief. Unlike
dogs or wolves, where a male can sometimes tie to a female for
up to half an hour, with moose it’s up and down. There
are no acrobatics or neck nibbling, but the job gets done. 
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