The moose lives in the Maine woods. It is a very big mammal. In the winters it moves about deep in the forest eating bark and twigs. In the summer it stays in the swamps, ponds, lakes eating water plants and ducking underwater to get rid of the black flies. A moose has reddish brow or black fur. It can be bigger than a horse. The moose weighs up to 600 kg.
The male is called a bull and has a large rack of antlers. The antlers begin to grow in April. Velvet covers the new antlers. When the antlers are all grown out the velvet falls off in large bloody chunks. The finished antlers are hard and bony. These antlers stay on until February. Then the moose antlers fall off and are eaten by small forest creatures.
The girl moose are called cows. The cows do not have antlers. If there is a lot of forage then the herds grows and cows have twin calves. If the food supply is small then only a few calves are born. The calves stay with the cow for one year and then the mother chases the yearling off.
The moose have poor eyesight but a good sense of smell. The also have good hearing. Bull moose are very fast and quiet as runners. These giants can move silently thought the thick deciduous forest.
The greatest predators to the moose herd are wolf packs, wolverines, and bears. The wolves run along the moose biting their hind quarter and the moose will bleed until it is so weak that the pack can kill the moose. The calves are prey to wolf and bear attacks. Full grown bull moose can live to be seven years of age and a cow can live to be eight years of age.
Good luck.
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