The cloven-hoofed mammalian moose (Latin name Alces alces) is the largest species of deer family. The average growth of the elk reaches two and a half meters, and the weight is five hundred and seventy kilograms. Sometimes males gain more than 650 kg. This animal has subspecies: Canadian, European, Asian. Their differences are insignificant, except that the Far Eastern moose are somewhat smaller than their brethren. Probably many wildlife fans are concerned about the question: "What does the moose feed on?" Especially in winter, in the forest? "After all, in the conditions of a severe Siberian winter, it is difficult to find a forage. Let's try to answer this question.
Distribution area
In Russia, elks are found in the natural zones of tundra, taiga, mixed and deciduous forests. They can be seen even in the steppe and semi-desert, but in these areas the sucked, of course, go only for a while, escaping from especially harsh winters. Moose prefer the swampy areas of the forest, river valleys, ravines and ravines covered with lush vegetation. From the habitat depends on what feeds on the elk. For example, in the forest-steppe these animals keep to the banks of rivers, where they eat branches of willow, but do not disdain and water vegetation. In the tundra, their food becomes mosses with lichens, herbs and mushrooms. In the steppe, their diet consists of herbs. The most popular are coniferous coniferous, deciduous or mixed forests. There elks find the best food in the form of young shoots and foliage. The well-being of young animals largely depends on the diet. If the losenok was born in the summer and spent the first months of his life in the forest, then before the onset of winter, he gains more than one centner in weight.
What does the elk feed on in the forest?
If it is a question of the taiga, then in the summer the suhate lead a twilight way of life. The fact is that these huge animals are afraid of tiny insects until death - the nemesis. From the bloodsuckers they are saved in swamps or lakes: in the day stand on the neck in the mud or water of lakes and rivers, and go out to graze only at night. In order to hide from the nest, animals look for well-blown clearings, climb into young growths of spruce or thick undergrowth. To escape from the nasty, the elk in the forest-tundra leaves the thicket for many kilometers. Losi swim well - to overcome two kilometers of water obstacle for them is not a problem. If there is a river or lake nearby, the elk spend a hot clock there, pinching off the coastal plants. Elk feed includes algae. At the same time, the elk can hold its breath for up to one or two minutes to find a suitable food. By the way, to get drunk, the elk must kneel. Too long front legs and a short neck prevent him from reaching for water.
Salt fasting
Probably, foliage, needles, bark and shoots do not fully satisfy the needs of these large cloven-hoofed animals in useful substances. Because this is a wild animal, it must seek the source of salt itself. Without it, the animal is sick. Therefore, in summer, moose come out of the woods and search for solonetzes. There they lick the soil, saturating the body with this mineral. In winter, in search of salt, elk come out on large highways, knowing from experience that a solution is created on the asphalt. To prevent traffic accidents, forester, knowing what the elk eats, mix the crystals in the feed or leave compressed cubes among the thicket.
Mushroom diet
In addition to salt, the largest deer lack a mushroom. Therefore, after a warm rain or with the onset of autumn moose go in search of these gifts of the forest. Particularly fond of spongiform spongy mushrooms - mosses, podberezoviki, white. Adult individuals remember the rich places and visit there from time to time for a new crop. Incredible, but true: moose eat fly agaric! And the sensation is not this fact itself, but the fact that the fungal toxins do not act on these animals. And vitamins of moose are taken from berries. They twine twigs of cranberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. Realizing that you need to stock up fat before the onset of cold weather, moose are heavily fed in the summer. In warm weather, the adult eats thirty-five kilograms of food, whereas in winter - only 12-15.
Seasonal products
Summer for herbivores is a very fertile time. Even in the tundra, you can find a lot of lichens and mosses, sprigs of creeping plants (dwarf birch or willow). In the taiga, even more food. On felling and burnt plowing easily find sorrel and kiprej, tall grasses and young shoots, raspberries and blackberries. Water lilies and lobsters grow in the warmed-up reservoirs, and on the banks there is a calf, watch, and horsetail. But already in September the foliage begins to turn yellow and fall off. The diet of moose also changes. The sukhaty go to twigs of bushes and trees, which fell on the leaves, and by November they include in their menus and bark. What does the moose feed on in the winter? In this difficult time, the herbivores become mainly the branches and bark. And here the huge growth of moose becomes his salvation. The animal can reach up to the branches to which deer can not reach. But the elk does not give up hope to get to the fodder.
What do moose eat in the winter?
The answer to this question depends on the range of animals. Where snow cover is low (up to half a meter) and frequent winter thaws occur, moose live settled. From winds and cold weather they are looking for shelter in dense coniferous forests. After all, there is not only a shelter, but also a sufficient amount of food. The favorite winter meal for elk in the taiga of Asia is pine and spruce, and in Canada and Alaska - fir. In the European part of Russia, Scandinavia, as well as in Belarus, Poland and the Ukrainian Polissya moose, except for coniferous paws, eat willow branches, mountain ash, aspen, birch. Of shrubs, they prefer raspberries, since the blackberry for the winter falls under the snow. When the thaw comes, moose gnaw the bark. In the hungry winters, sukhaty without any complexes visit forest plantations and green nurseries.
Forced camps
In those places where the height of the snow cover reaches more than half a meter, the elks are forced to migrate to warmer areas, so that, in the case of icing of branches, it is possible to rake out the greens. To wander animals begin long before the onset of winter, back in October. The herd is strictly hierarchical. Ahead follow those females that have young. Thus, the young are provided with untouched pastures. The structure is closed by males and females without young. On the day the herd passes about ten kilometers. Spring migrations occur during the melting of the snow and in the reverse order: the first are adult males, the last ones are females with moose. Food at this time is what the elk feeds in the forest normally. Sohaty dig out from under the snow evergreen branches of cranberries and blueberries, gnaw on bark or eat coniferous paws.
What are the stoises?
Having arrived at the place of the winter hut, the moose begin to settle. In contrast to summer, graze plowed in winter only during daylight hours. To get to the high branches and provide yourself access to what eats moose, in the forest the whole herd is tampering the snow in place of the future feeding. Such winter pastures foresters are called "stables". They can graze dozens of animals at the same time. But in the places of the lodges (accommodations) of moose, the snow breaks loose. When there are frosty frosts, the elk bury themselves in drifts, like a fluffy blanket, from under which only horns and withers stick out. The herd chooses leeward slopes, yars, ravines for overnight lodging. To support the moose in a difficult time, foresters leave in the depths of the thickets of the trough with hay mixed with salt.
Spring migration
When the light day increases significantly, moose begin to return to the places of summer feeding. Led by an experienced female herd is built into a new order. At this time, the first go the males, and the grown-up young - next. What does the moose feed on in the spring? The plants that are green first. Young needles are the source of vitamin C. The favorite spring dainty for the sucked are the earrings of birch and alder, shoots of willow. The moose move slowly, waiting for them along the way The buds will bud and the grass will spread. These animals are stubborn walkers, but do not like the sprint. If they are attacked, they either choose to defend themselves, or leave the pursuer with a sweeping trotting trot. We can say that moose are more resistant to colds than to heat. Dense wool poorly provides thermoregulation of the body. May is the most fertile time for moose. Then blossom willow-tea (kiprei), willow branches are poured with juice and let out young leaves, there is a sorrel and rich with vitamins of wild garlic. Los feeds addiction not only to the fly agaric, but also to poisonous plants. He eats buttercups, lily-of-the-valley, birchbark, raven eye and wolf's bast. Animal health requires tannins contained in the bark (especially rowan, aspen and willow), as well as the turpentines, which animals draw from the needles of juniper and pine.