Naturalist Notes

Seeing a moose is always special, but seeing two bulls sparring is a highlight of anyone’s trip. On a recent tour, we saw just that. We took the group to one of our favorite spots to find moose and were treated to two males grazing together, but the peace didn’t last long as the boys began to bicker by pushing each other with their massive antlers.

Sparring behavior is common in younger males and is thought to help the bulls prepare for the fighting that will come later in life as they seek to assert their dominance and gain control of female groups, which will allow them to pass along their genes. Sparring consists of gentle pushing (gentle if you’re a moose…) and is not preceded or followed by threat displays or chasing. It’s unusual for older bulls to spar; rather, they engage in full-on fights that are violent and can result in serious damage. Moose antlers are actually organs and are incredible weapons – they are sharp to inflict injury and broad to serve as pushing tools and shields.

In this case, the larger bull’s antler popped off. Antlers are shed annually, often between December and January, but it’s the first time we’ve seen a moose shed an antler quite like this! As is typical with sparring behavior, the bulls did not do any permanent damage to one another and stayed together after the incident.

We loved witnessing this with our clients and take great pride in helping visitors find these once in a lifetime experiences.

Remember that moose can be incredibly dangerous! Mature bulls weigh upwards of 1600 pounds and all moose are very fast. They don’t have great senses of humor, so it’s important to keep your distance for their sake, and yours.