<\/a><\/p>\n

The author of one of my favourite websites (Lee’s Photoblog<\/a>) posted a question on his site yesterday debating between the reason that moose breed around this time every year.\u00a0 This question really got me thinking,\u00a0 so why exactly does the moose go into estrus at this time every year? Could it be the temperature that dictates the rut? Could it be the amount of light? Are there other survival mechanisms at work here?<\/p>\n

First, a little bit about the moose life cycle.\u00a0 Around September to October, moose will begin courting and eventually start mating.\u00a0 The cow moose will deliver one or two (rarely three) calves around May or June.\u00a0 Although, the calves look small and disoriented when they are first born they will grow very quickly.\u00a0 The health of the moose population along with the availability of food will dictate the number of offspring possible.\u00a0 Mating will take a lot out of the moose so it is very important that they have all summer to feed and become healthy.\u00a0 The cow moose needs to be able to nourish herself as well as the calf growing inside of her throughout the winter.<\/p>\n

So, why do moose mate around this time every year?\u00a0 Interestingly enough, no matter where moose tend to reside in North America they all go into estrus around September\/ October.\u00a0 Studies have shown that it doesn’t matter if the moose lives in Northern USA or Northern Canada they will still go into estrus around the same time.\u00a0 This tells me that temperature is not the driving factor for the moose rut otherwise moose would rut earlier in the northern latitudes and later in the southern latitudes.\u00a0 Although, temperature doesn’t drive the rut, weather, however, does play a part in the exact timing and intensity of the rut.\u00a0 For example, moose will be more active at night during warm weather so this allows for additional activity.\u00a0 As well, I have not found any evidence that the amount of daylight will impact estrus patterns in moose.\u00a0 Again, if this were the case then moose would rut at different times throughout their range.\u00a0 So by now you are probably yelling profanities at the computer screen telling me to hurry up and get to the point already! All right, my theory is this, moose have evolved to go into estrus around September and October because it allows them ample time throughout the summer to be healthy enough for them to make it through the winter.\u00a0 Secondly, this allows the calves to be born in May\/June which in turn gives them plenty of time to forage and become strong enough for the harsh winter months.\u00a0 Studies have shown that moose born later in the spring have higher mortality rates then their counterparts born earlier.\u00a0 This evidence supports my theory of a lower moose mortality rate by mating in September\/October.<\/p>\n

I understand that this is a longer Wild Fact so thank you for sticking it out and reading the whole post (provided you didn’t just skip to this part!).\u00a0 Have a great day everyone!<\/p>\n

References<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Bowyer, R., V. Van Ballenberghe, J. Kie. 2003. Moose: Alces alces<\/a>. Pp. 931-964 in G. Feldhamer, B. Thompson, J. Chapman, eds. Wild mammals of North America: Biology, management and conservation<\/span>. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The author of one of my favourite websites (Lee’s Photoblog) posted a question on his site yesterday debating between the reason that moose breed around this time every year.\u00a0 This question really got me thinking,\u00a0 so why exactly does the moose go into estrus at this time every year? Could it be the temperature that dictates the rut? Could it be the amount of light? Are there other survival mechanisms at work here? First, a little bit about the moose life cycle.\u00a0 Around September to October, moose will begin courting and eventually start mating.\u00a0 The cow moose will deliver one <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":426,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[60,4024],"tags":[348,135,4026,133,131,4025,134,132],"yoast_head":"\n