a question for Frosty

[ausfire]

Hey Frosty, every time I see your avatar (which is often), I gotta think what is that animal in the snow?? It doesn't look like a cow - maybe a moose or something? What's the story with that picture??

[Frosty]

Hey Frosty, every time I see your avatar (which is often), I gotta think what is that animal in the snow?? It doesn't look like a cow - maybe a moose or something? What's the story with that picture??

Yeah a yearling cow moose, right on both those counts. She was eating buds where I'd limbed some firewood. Somewhere Deb has a pic of me blocking out a birch tree and a moose eating the buds at the other end. In winter moose come to the sound of a chain saw, every downed tree makes the buds available to eat.

That cow was familiar with us, living on or very near our property so we saw each other almost daily so she wasn't likely to panic at the threat and stomp me to blood pudding. More people in Alaska are killed by moose than all the other animals put together. They have a pretty simple response to threats, do a 1,000lb - 1,800lb tap dance on it till it's not a threat anymore.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

[ausfire]

Thanks Frosty. I never knew that mooses (?) were dangerous things. They look pretty slow and placid. Would have thought a grizzly would be a bit more fearful!!  We went to Alaska once, a few years back. The touristy sort of thing - sailed the inside passage and stopped at Juneau, Ketchikan, Scagway etc. Nice to visit, but I couldn't stand your cold or those long nights in winter.

[teenylittlemetalguy]

You get used to cold and dark, we just sleep all winter and stay up all summer. I have literally mown my lawn at 11pm on a weeknight and not had any complaints as everyone else was up. Fairbanks offers 2am tee times for golfers...

 

[Charles R. Stevens]

For the rest of the world, the moose is known as the "elk" in nothern europe. When europens first encounterd the animal we (americans) call the elk (acualy geneticaly the same speciase as the red dear or "heart") they taged it with the name "elk" as the north american elk is 800-1200# verses red dear which is a third the size. So now they needed a new name for the "moose" lol

[Frosty]

Thanks Frosty. I never knew that mooses (?) were dangerous things. They look pretty slow and placid. Would have thought a grizzly would be a bit more fearful!!  We went to Alaska once, a few years back. The touristy sort of thing - sailed the inside passage and stopped at Juneau, Ketchikan, Scagway etc. Nice to visit, but I couldn't stand your cold or those long nights in winter.

My pleasure, been waiting for a question of smart Alec comment. 

Too many people don't think moose are dangerous but too many people text and drive too. They only look slow, gawky and clumsy They can graze faster than a person can walk, walk faster than we can run and run down your Chevy in a sprint. An 8' fence is well within their standing jump ability if they don't just plow it down.

They're prey animals so they react like prey, fight or flight and they're smarter than they look. They've discovered they do better fighting that fleeing. A big bull weighs in around 1,400-1,800lbs and a cow can run from 900-1,200lbs. Unless it's the rut bulls usually ignore people or wander off. A cow keeps her calves close for about a year and you do NOT want to get near a cow with calves.

Bears might take a moose calf if it gets separated from momma or momma will stomp a brown bear AKA grizzly inland, to pulp literally. They wouldn't be good prey animals if they herded up all year instead of just the rut.

Yeah, they're very dangerous but you have to be pretty stupid to tangle with one. Make noise walking in the woods and they'll avoid you. Easy peasy.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Charles R. Stevens]

my understanding is that the rest of the world knows the moose as an "elk" but when the europiens ari ed and saw the size of our "Red Deer" or "Harts" they thought it was a different criter and tagged it with a familer name. Apone moving further north they had to come up with a new name for the "elk"

Edited July 10, 2015 by Charles R. Stevens

[Charles R. Stevens]

I would post a picture of north american elk faken a few days ago around Shollow Arizona, but No luck with the denial deamon

[ironwolfforgeca]

I did'nt know that moose & elk were the same thing LOL & we have LOT'S of Elk here !!

now I have call the elk Moose thats really gona confuse people here LOL

[Charles R. Stevens]

Emavine my shock, moving to Oklahoma. American elk in arizona are the size of horses, wile the ones in "elk city" oklahoma are 1/2 the size. 

[Glenn]

All this is amoosing but we need to see pictures.

 

 

White-tailed deer, the smallest members of the North American deer family, are found from southern Canada to South America. In the heat of summer they typically inhabit fields and meadows using clumps of broad-leaved and coniferous forests for shade. During the winter they generally keep to forests, preferring coniferous stands that provide shelter from the harsh elements.

They use speed and agility to outrun predators, sprinting up to 30 miles (48 kilometers) per hour and leaping as high as 10 feet (3 meters) and as far as 30 feet (9 meters) in a single bound.

Elk are also called wapiti, a Native American word that means "light-colored deer." Elk are related to deer but are much larger than most of their relatives. A bull (male) elk's antlers may reach 4 feet (1.2 meters) above its head, so that the animal towers 9 feet (2.7 meters) tall.

Moose are the largest of all the deer species. Males are immediately recognizable by their huge antlers, which can spread 6 feet (1.8 meters) from end to end. Moose have long faces and muzzles that dangle over their chins. A flap of skin known as a bell sways beneath each moose's throat.

Moose are at home in the water and, despite their staggering bulk, are good swimmers. They have been seen paddling several miles at a time, and will even submerge completely, staying under for 30 seconds or more.

Moose are similarly nimble on land. They can run up to 35 miles (56 kilometers) an hour over short distances, and trot steadily at 20 miles (32 kilometers) an hour.

 

 

Edited July 10, 2015 by Glenn

[Takeru691]

this happen a lot over my area to. It usually ends baddly for the animal and human

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/what-moose-woman-can-t-recall-dramatic-collision-1.1215223

[ThomasPowers]

All the larger ones are a danger on the roads as well as their longer legs mean that when you hit them the main body of the animal is over the hood of most cars and comes straight through the windshield to play.  

[Frosty]

this happen a lot over my area to. It usually ends baddly for the animal and human

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/what-moose-woman-can-t-recall-dramatic-collision-1.1215223

 

The CBC news clip is pretty extraordinary. Lucky lady and with a traumatic brain injury it isn't surprising if other motorists couldn't get her attention to stop and get 1st. aide.

In 43 years here I haven't seen that happen and I've seen a lot of moose vehicle collisions. Usually a moose goes over the hood and roof, IF you're lucky. Occasionally they get hit hard enough and or just right and flip to go through the windshield feet first. This is very BAD for the passengers.

Frosty The Lucky.

Edited July 10, 2015 by Frosty

[gote]

In Sweden moose (Älg in our language) is THE animal to hunt. They can be dangerous A woman got killed a couple of years ago and the police promptly jailed her husband. Eventually the forensic people cleared him "Its not our fault he was jailed - you did not ask us to look for moose DNA"

However they are shy so most people have never seen any at close quarters and it is extremely rare that they attack people.

Thy are a common cause of road accidents and our main roads have fences for hat reason. The really dangerous thing is not that they come through the windscreen but that many cars have too weak window frames. A direct hit will push down the roof and break your neck. Air bags and seat belts are no help.

Göte   

[Frosty]

What does a big Alg buck weigh? A big moose buck will weigh around 750-800 kg. They've been known to cave in roofs reinforced with roll bars though vehicles with roll bars are more rare up here than in the lower 48. We have a different set of necessary equipment for off road driving.

Moose is THE game meat here with caribou (reindeer) a close second though black bear is yummy too.

http://news.deltanewsweb.com/news/2011/08/09/moose-versus-vehicle-accidents/

Frosty The Lucky.

[ianinsa]

Well Frosty, my first though was ,hey you must need a big freezer, then I remembered you live in one 

[Frosty]

Well Frosty, my first though was ,hey you must need a big freezer, then I remembered you live in one 

We used to, pretty warm last winter but a moose dresses out a bit over 1/2 it's weight on the hoof and it's no problem getting someone to let you use part of their freezer.

Frosty the Lucky.

[LastRonin]

We used to, pretty warm last winter but a moose dresses out a bit over 1/2 it's weight on the hoof and it's no problem getting someone to let you use part of their freezer.

Frosty the Lucky.

for a "dividend" I'd guess

[Frosty]

for a "dividend" I'd guess

At least I didn't put ANY wear on the new snow plow.

Frosty the Lucky.

[ausfire]

I guess a moose through the windscreen would be pretty scary: a big old man kangaroo on your lap is no picnic either.

[Frosty]

A moose coming through the windshield is only scary for a few seconds. I haven't seen anything about kangaroos to make me think getting close is a good idea. Maybe to clean one for the BBQ? Are they good eating?

Frosty the Lucky.

Edited July 30, 2015 by Frosty

[Steve Sells]

lets all Sing:

Moose, moose I love a moose...

[ausfire]

A moose coming through the windshield is only scary for a few seconds. I haven't seen anything about kangaroos to make me think getting close is a good idea. Maybe to clean one for the BBQ? Are they good eating?

Frosty the Lucky.

Yes, they are. Deep red meat, bit stronger than beef steak. You do get the squeamish folks though, who won't eat an animal that's on our coat of arms. And kangaroos are cute and cuddly. So are lambs.

[Frosty]

lets all Sing:

Moose, moose I love a moose...

Come visit and I'll show you love a moose.

Frosty the Lucky.

Yes, they are. Deep red meat, bit stronger than beef steak. You do get the squeamish folks though, who won't eat an animal that's on our coat of arms. And kangaroos are cute and cuddly. So are lambs.

Do you need to lard it like the deer family? Yeah, lambs are cute alright. I've seen folk knocked on their butts and trampled by cute little lambs looking for something to eat. I've grown lawns smarter than a lamb. I'm not even going to ask if Roos are smarter.

Frosty the Lucky.