Pass the moose meat please!

When we enter a village one of the first questions that we are asked is if we have seen any moose. Moose meat is an important source of food for many of the people living in remote communities. We have learned that many locals like moose meat better than beef. Unfortunately we have not seen any moose yet this winter, but we hope to see one before the end of the adventure.

A good clue to see if moose have passed by is to look for their footprints or tracks. They have split hooves that are usually about 5 inches long. Another clue of moose activity is to look out for their droppings, or scat. In the summer when they are eating lush green plants, their scat looks like piles similar to cow droppings. In the winter their scat look like long round pellets.

Seeing moose is always a thrilling experience, but with sled dogs you have to be especially careful. Moose have been known to get tangled in a dog team and in the confusion kick and sometimes kill dogs with their sharp hooves. When we see fresh moose tracks we are always on the look out for the moose that left the tracks. It would be great to see a moose, but we also have to be careful and try keep it at a safe distance so that it will not kick any of our dogs.

Click on photo to enlarge

Male moose are called bulls, female moose are cows, and young moose are known as calves. Cows usually have about 1-2 calves at a time. The calves are born in May and June and weigh between 25-34 pounds. Unlike human babies calves can walk on their first day of birth. The calves stay with their mothers for about a year until the cow has another calf. In the fall, bulls begin rutting and look for cows to mate with. Sometimes these wandering bulls get into fights with other males.

Keep Exploring,

Dave