![]() ![]() By dropping this unwieldy headgear in the colder months, male moose become more mobile and can better find enough food to survive, writes Melissa Clark for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. “A bull grows his first set beginning with his first birthday, in general, and they grow in size and shape each year until around 11, when growth is minimal,” Kantar tells the publication.Īs winter approaches and the breeding season ends, the antlers become a hassle more than anything. During the fall mating season, female moose may prefer to breed with males that have larger antlers, perceiving them to be more physically fit, Lee Kantar, a moose biologist for the Maine Department of Inland Fish and Wildlife, tells National Geographic’s Jason Bittel. In another miraculous event captured on video, a moose in Alaska went viral last month after its antler shedding was recorded on a doorbell camera.įor moose, antlers are primarily tools in sexual reproduction. ![]() ![]() Though it’s not unusual to find discarded antlers after a moose sheds them, footage of the actual process is rare. Caribou are the only cervids to have females grow and shed antlers as well. The shedding process, also known as casting, is a normal event that occurs annually for many male cervids-a group of hoofed mammals like moose, deer and elk. During the winter season, moose shed their antlers before regrowing them in the spring. ![]()
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