Nature

Moose (Alces alces)

Long and thin legs with large hooves, hump on the back, head with a wide muzzle, small eyes, big ears – it‘s the moose, the largest representative of the Cervidae family. If you think the animal looks a bit akward, remember that it can run as fast as 60 kilometres per hour, move easily around bogs and marshes and swim across a distance up to 20 kilometres. Because of these characteristics and easy domestication, the moose was once used by the Swedish army as a saddle and draught animal. In natural conditions the moose normally lives alone. Only in the winter and in time of breeding they form small herds. Between August and October females enter the heat season and call the males with a mournful howl. The males arriving to answer this call compete with each other, the winner stays with the female until the end of heat and fertilizes her. The female gives birth to 1-3 calves, which stay with her for a period of one year. The only enemies of the moose are wolves and humans, who hunted the moose since the stone age for its meat, skin and hooves. In early 20th century, the only refuge of the moose in Poland was the Biebrza River valley. Since 1921 the species is protected and as a result today there are 600 moose in the Biebrza area. Apart from this, they are quite numerous in the Polesie Lubelskie region and Kampinoska Forest.

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