How tame moose are raised. A new inhabitant will soon appear in the house of an aibolite - a calf How to feed an elk in a zoo

A newborn calf was found in the forest near Mezhdurechensk. Most likely, the moose cow was frightened by the presence of people and ran away, but then she would definitely return to her cub, she simply did not need to be taken away. But what's done is done. The elk was taken in by kind people. As soon as the calf was brought to them, they called the national park to find out how to care for it. They voluntarily agreed to feed the calf, as they have a recently calved cow. To date, the calf is 15 days old, it is a female, she feels relatively well. Such a baby, of course, is not afraid of people and is very attached to them, constantly pokes her muzzle into everything that turns under her nose and tries to suck on a shirt, dress, hand - she is looking for her mother.

The management of the national park decided to take the calf somewhere in early June, as soon as it gets a little stronger and can consume plant foods in addition to milk. Unfortunately, it is impossible to pick up the calf earlier, because it is very small and it needs to grow at least a little. Moreover, the cub is already accustomed to the milk of a certain cow, changing the feed can only do harm. Now, in the aviary complex near the Aibolit House, a place is allocated for a small paddock, where the calf will be able to walk in freedom. But in general, an animal as large as the elk is very difficult to raise in captivity. We hope that everything will be fine with our calf, although it is unlikely that we will be able to release it in the future.

I would like to remind people visiting the forest not to pick up supposedly “abandoned” cubs from nature. By removing a living object from its habitual habitat, we ourselves create new tragedies and often doom the animal to a long torment in captivity.

Andrey Shalygin: Today's children, and adults too, often live with some strange modern diseases, such as lactose intolerance to cow's milk, allergies to goat's milk, and indeed cow's milk protein is a poison to many. And the number of such diseases is only growing, not having a reverse trend.

We are not even talking about the fact that modern meat, beef and pork, eaten by humans, are more like a waste dump of the chemical and medical industries, in which there will soon be more antibiotics than protein. And in this regard, elementary infections that have grown under the pressure of so many drugs can no longer be taken by anything, and a child fed on such products is generally unknown what offspring will reproduce in the future.

It is not worth mentioning that the system of reproduction of the wild livestock of animals, from which the local population in the regions fed all their lives, is simply absent today. Although, in principle, nothing is impossible. This is clearly evidenced by the example of the Sumarokov moose farm, to which we decided to return once again today.

Previously about taming and breeding moose in Russia:

As follows from the history of domestic elk breeding: The initiator of the "domestication" of the elk in our country is Professor P.A. Manteuffel. In 1949, at the Pechero-Ilychsky State Reserve, the Center for the Study of Ecology and the Economic Use of Domesticated and Wild Moose was established. The result of his work was the work on the ecology of the elk, its behavior, on some physiological, morphological features and diseases. As for solving practical problems, the results were less significant. This center lasted almost until the mid-1990s.

Using the experience of the Pechero-Ilych State Reserve, at the Kostroma State Agricultural Experimental Station near the village of Sumarokovo, on a total area of ​​​​about 200 hectares, the Sumarokovskaya Elk Farm was created.

The Losefarm began to domesticate moose since 1963. The first young moose came from Nerekhtsky, Krasnoselsky, Chukhlomsky, Susaninsky and other districts of the Kostroma region, which were taken from the natural environment. In 1968, one adult bull and four adult moose calves were brought from the Pechero-Ilych elk farm. In May 1970, the first calf was born on the farm. In 1965, the moose farm became part of the Kostroma Agricultural Experimental Station. In 1972, a laboratory of elk breeding was established to conduct planned research on the problems of elk domestication.

By order of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR dated June 14, 1985 No. 852, the moose farm was transferred to the Kostroma Mekhleskhoz, since, according to the decree of the State Committee for Science and Technology of the USSR dated 03/20/84 and the order of the USSR State Forestry Service dated 07/12/84 No. 98 for the Kostroma Forest Experimental Station ( VOC), a laboratory of elk breeding was established to conduct research in the field of domestication, reproduction and use of elk. By the decision of the Regional Executive Committee No. 337 of September 19, 1985, a special hunting farm was organized as part of the mekhleskhoz with a total area of ​​64 thousand hectares.

In 1987, the lands of the state forest fund with a total area of ​​3224 hectares were transferred to the moose farm and a master forest plot was organized. At the same time, the territory of the elk sanctuary of regional significance was expanded, which amounted to about 36 thousand hectares. In 1990, an "elk complex" was organized as part of the subdivisions: an experimental moose farm, an elk reserve, and a forest plot. In 1991, the special hunting farm was abolished and all hunting on the territory of the elk complex was closed.

The moose farm received the greatest development in the eighties. The maximum number of animals was in 1978 and amounted to 67 heads, and the average annual number from 1963 to 1999 was 42 heads. Since 1998, the livestock has increased to 40 heads, and in June 1999 - up to 62 heads. The maximum number of dairy moose cows was in 1985 - 16 goals, the average annual number for the period from 1974 to 1999 - 11 moose cows. On the instructions of the State Committee for Science and Technology of the USSR No. 209 dated April 23, 1974 and No. 240 dated May 20, 1977, scientific work began on the topic "To develop a technology for keeping, feeding, domesticating elk and using moose products in the national economy."

The method of raising and keeping moose, adopted on the farm, from a theoretical point of view, is justified in the works of employees of the Research Institute of Normal Physiology. P. K. Anokhin of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences Ekaterina Mitrofanovna Bogomolova and Yuri Alexandrovich Kurochkin. A moose cow and a newborn calf form a bioorganismal functional system (1-3). At the very first stages of its formation, a person invades the system, replacing himself for a moose cow - a calf, and for a calf - a moose cow. If the substitution is made correctly and on time, then the moose cow begins to behave towards the person in almost the same way as towards her calf, coming to his farm, giving milk and protecting him from imaginary and real dangers. The behavior of a calf in relation to a person resembles its attitude towards its mother: it follows the person, goes to the call of the teacher, receiving milk from his hands.

This replacement is not quite 100%. For example, in the future, there is no redirection of the sexual behavior of elks raised by humans to humans - probably, keeping young elks in a group contributes to normal socialization and the normal development of sexual behavior. The behavior of a moose cow in relation to a milkmaid is similar, but does not completely repeat the behavior in relation to a calf. It is necessary to make a reservation that all natural patterns are statistical in nature, therefore, when describing behavioral reactions, “usually”, “normal”, “usually” will be implied, and only sometimes I will pay attention to exceptions.

In practice, the "domestication" of a newborn calf begins in conditions that are as close to natural as possible. Before the snow cover melts, all pregnant moose cows are brought to a “maternity” corral with an area of ​​about 3 hectares. At this time, moose cows need to be fed especially well, and this is very difficult, because an adult moose needs to bring 60 kilograms of branch food per day, since it must be borne in mind that the moose does not eat branches with a diameter of more than 8-10 millimeters, and you have to bring "ballast", thicker ones, which then go to waste. Experience shows that the replacement of branches with concentrated and unusual feed for elk can adversely affect the condition of the mother and fetus. Well-fed moose cows calmly await the start of labor.

This is how tamed moose live near the place of logging until mid-April. The territory of the plot is not fenced, this is not necessary. The abundance of food keeps domestic moose in the area of ​​the plot and even attracts wild moose from the surrounding forests.

In mid-April, moose are transferred to a "demonstration" corral with an area of ​​about 4 hectares. And only pregnant moose cows, as mentioned above, are placed separately, in a "maternity" corral with an area of ​​about 3 hectares.

In the "demonstration" corral, animals are kept until winter. This rule applies mainly to young males and females that do not give milk.

Dairy moose cows are privileged animals, and they have to stay locked up very little. Immediately after calving, the moose cow gets the right to free grazing and returns to the farm only for the period of milking, and to feed herself with oatmeal.

Also, the "elk-manufacturer" Yaston enjoys completely unlimited freedom. This new leader of the elk tribe of the Sumarokovskaya moose farm has recently replaced the beloved elk Luchik. Until the first foliage appeared on the trees, and grass in the meadows, Yaston is in no hurry to leave the paddock. But even after the appearance of green fodder, it often appears on the farm to enjoy oatmeal. In the middle of summer it disappears, before the start of the rut. However, it is not difficult to find it, since the Los-2 portable radio transmitter is attached to the collars of all adult moose.

This makes it possible for the employees of the moose farm to determine the location of any of them while keeping free-range domestic moose. For example, to find and bring a moose cow that has gone on a spree for milking, to provide assistance to an animal in trouble, as well as for scientific observations.

From the beginning of the year until about mid-April, all moose live near the logging site. They have breakfast every morning. Once the felling is finished and the bunting has been eaten, the animals are released and go to the piles of branches and the aspen-bark feeders. There is no need to fence off the plot. The abundance of food keeps domestic moose in the area of ​​the plot and even attracts wild moose from the surrounding forests. Man provides moose with not too varied food, but they can find what they lack in the forest around the plot. According to preliminary satellite tracking data, the moose cow with the transmitter did not go beyond the area of ​​23.5 hectares around the harvest site for less than a month.

Before the snow cover melts, pregnant moose cows are placed in a "maternity" pen with an area of ​​about 3 hectares, and all the rest - in a "demonstration" pen with an area of ​​​​about 4 hectares. There will be a special discussion about dairy moose cows, these are privileged animals, and they have to be locked up for a very small percentage of the time of the year. Even less, or rather, the freedom of almost everyone's favorite "moose-producer" Luchik is not at all limited, but in the spring he is in no hurry to go to his "Berendeev thicket" across the Poksha River. Until the grass appeared in the fields, and the foliage on the trees, he does not express the slightest desire to leave the corral, but, being released, he immediately returns and goes to a pile of branches brought from the plot. And after the advent of green fodder, he comes to enjoy oatmeal even in June. Then he “disappears” until the fall, before the start of the rut, but it is not difficult to find him in the summer with the help of a portable radio direction finder, since a radio transmitter is fixed on his collar, like on the collars of all adult domestic moose.

It is harder on the farm for the rest of the males, as well as young females who do not give milk, they are placed in the spring in the "demonstration" corral. According to the accepted method, animals should be kept in this pen until about the middle or end of June, i.e. until the end of the spring period of migratory activity. In the wild during this period, young moose settle, looking for a habitat. However, in recent years, the summer edition has been abandoned for the simple reason that then only newborn moose calves would have to be shown to visitors. After all, milking moose cows spend the day on pastures, and their appearance near the farm during the day is more an accident than a pattern. My opinion is that two-thirds of the animals should be released from the demonstration pen in the middle of summer, having provided them with modern long-range radio tags. Since it is likely that many will return "to the porridge" or to the shady barn, it is possible to release one by one.

In the hot season, all moose suffer greatly from horseflies. The wild ones have to save themselves in the water or hide in the shade of the spruce forests, but it is not dark enough there so that the horseflies could not fly at all. Homes have an advantage; they make shade canopies and sheds for them. I put forward a proposal to make a “corridor” for the passage of visitors and to fence off a small observation deck for them inside the shady barn so that the animals would not have to be driven into a cloud of horseflies for demonstration. The second option is to attach an additional shady canopy directly to the "bar" so that visitors can see the resting moose directly from the bar or from the terrace.

Farm staff check the condition of the animals once every 1-6 hours to catch the onset of labor. It is especially important to catch the onset of labor in a young moose cow giving birth for the first time. It is necessary to be at the right moment in the right place - at the place of birth, inside the invisible "vicious circle". With their beginning, everything that moves inside the circle, the moose cow will consider “hers”, outside it - “alien”. As a rule, the moose cow's innate aggressive reaction to a "small moving object" disappears at the time of birth, which makes it possible for her to accept a calf. But another elk approaching the place of birth must be attacked immediately, otherwise the newborn calf, which has not yet learned to distinguish its mother from other large moving objects, may follow it and die without milk.

It would seem that young moose will spend almost the entire year in captivity, on imported feed, but this is not entirely true. The fences (except for the "front", mesh, facing visitors) are almost symbolic, they are made of poles, and moose break through them if they really want to. I saw how an elk killed a birch with a diameter of 12 cm with one blow of the front leg. Once, a milking moose cow, frightened by a rope tied to a bridle, broke through a fence in 4 places in a minute, without receiving any damage herself. Every autumn, during the rutting season, wild males coming from the forest break through real “gates” in the “back” fence of the demonstration pen in order to get to young females. Domestic elks themselves, sometimes almost unnoticed by farm workers, damage the corral in order to graze on agricultural crops in the fields surrounding the farm. The one-year-old calf Lubok learned to crawl under the lower pole “like a plastuna” on his belly. However, in the morning, all as one find themselves in the corral for the distribution of "porridge".

Moose calves also include last year's (one-year-old or two-year-old) moose calves, which are to be expelled a few days before birth, as hostile objects. However, for some reason, the moose cow does not consider well-known people, including “last year's” milkmaids, as enemies and, as a rule, does not attack. Under their "cover" to the place of birth, in the "vicious circle" new workers manage to get into, and sometimes even complete strangers, for example, cameramen. Arriving at the place of birth, you need to moisten your hands with amniotic fluid and bring it to the nose of the moose cow in order to “deceive” it, because for the moose the smell of the object is more important than all its other properties. Having thus "registered", and not having received an "order" to leave immediately, a person can observe the birth. How the order to leave “looks like” can be found in the safety section. Of course, not every moose cow will let strangers in.

Perhaps it is the loopholes to freedom that save the “repair” herd of elk from intestinal diseases and death; in the second half of summer and autumn, farm workers restore the fence not too carefully and in a timely manner, in contrast to the period of spring-summer migration activity.

In winter, while there is little snow, all the "free" animals live near the farm, receiving not only top dressing in the form of oatmeal, but also almost full nutrition with aspen bark and branches. With the establishment of a stable snow cover, all animals are transferred to the plot. There, young people can look for those plants, those substances that they did not receive during their time in the corral, and if they wish, they can leave the farm forever.

Moose live on the farm as long as they like living here. The Animal Liberation Front has nothing to do here, all the moose on the farm voluntarily "sold for oatmeal." But they have little choice, almost the entire habitable territory of the Earth belongs to hunting farms. The number of dead animals is only slightly higher than the number killed for meat.

Farm workers get more elk love than calves. In the history of the farm, there were outstanding personalities who, being in the position of head, dared to release “unnecessary” animals from the farm instead of slaughtering for meat, contrary to the requirements of higher bosses and part of the attendants. Gotovtsev Vladimir Vasilyevich never ordered to kill an elk. Brovtsev Sergei Ernestovich, after one killed yearling, was convinced of the advantages of peaceful coexistence with moose.

Now, many of those kept on the farm are alive only because the tamed elk is a very expensive animal, there is a chance to sell it for a lot of money, because they cannot be bred in zoos. Growing costs are many times higher than the cost of meat, but if it is impossible to sell, the principle of “take at least something” applies, justified by the phrase “we will eat better than poachers.” Of course, a free elk has a chance to be killed by a poacher, a hunter, a wolf, get hit by a car, etc., but before that he will enjoy life, and sometimes for quite a long time.

Before the patterns of behavior of the moose cow at the place of birth were revealed, the weaning of the calf was accompanied by violent actions: they put it in a basket, pressed it to the bottom and covered it with a quilted jacket, the moose cow was driven away with sticks, after which the basket was carried away outside the corral. Based on their research, E. M. Bogomolova and Yu. A. Kurochkin proposed a stress-free method for weaning a calf from its mother. Obeying the innate reaction of following, the calf follows the person, and the elk remains to guard the place of birth, since in the first days the elk does not protect the calf, but the place of birth, which plays a key role in the formation of the systemic connection "moose - newborn calf" (4). Milkmaids at this time distract the moose cow: they milk, cut the hair around the udder (so that in the future it does not interfere with milking). In many moose calves on the first day of life, the following reaction is not sufficiently expressed, and they are simply carried away, distracting the moose cow and preventing the calf from squeaking too loudly.

If the young moose does not accept the calf, the "local Lassie" will take care of it. In nature, an abandoned, premature, born weighing less than 6 kg or in severe frost almost certainly dies, but here almost everyone tries to go out. Alas, it is not always possible - despite the vast experience gained by the farm veterinarians.

Two or three dozen calves are born together within 2-3 weeks from late April to mid-May. They will spend the first month of their life in "quarantine": under a shed and in a courtyard, which is only allowed to people working on a moose farm. This will prevent both an infection that visitors can bring in and an excess of sweets in the diet of moose calves.

For a week or two, babies will receive milk from a nipple, then they will be taught to drink from a saucepan. Starting from the second or third week, moose milk will be gradually replaced with a special mixture - a milk substitute. Moose milk contains a lot of fat and protein, and at the same time it is low in lactose (very approximately - 10, 12 and 5%, respectively), so neither cow's nor human milk powders are suitable for hand-feeding moose. Existing overseas mixes designed for zoo wild animals are almost non-existent, but some companies here make mixes with custom ingredients. Goat milk is not used here, but it is quite suitable for feeding moose calves in orphan calf care centers.

Large quantities of willow branches and forest forbs are delivered to the paddock. Be sure to have chilled boiled water, clean earth (clay) and mineral salt briquettes in the room. In early June, when almost all calves are one month old, run to the summer camp! Now you have to be locked up only from 10 to 15 hours, while there are excursions.

The first month of life, moose calves spend in "quarantine", where only employees of the moose farm are allowed. For two weeks, a calf is fed milk from a nipple. Then the elk milk is gradually replaced with a special mixture and the calves are taught to drink from a saucepan. Moose milk is high in fat, protein, and low in lactose. Therefore, neither cow's nor human-used milk formulas are suitable for feeding a calf. Only goat milk is closest in composition to elk milk, but it is not used on the moose farm.

Also, willow branches and a variety of herbs are gradually introduced into the diet. Moose calves must have chilled boiled water, clay and mineral salt briquette in their pens.

In early June, moose are transferred to a summer camp. Now they will be on the farm only during the period when there are excursions. At the end of the last excursion, the elk calves are again fed milk formula, and then sent to free pasture until the next morning.

Gradually, by autumn, moose calves begin to shed, changing their red hair to brown, and by October they gain weight up to 100 kg. The milk mixture in their diet is gradually replacing ground oats steamed in lightly salted hot water. In winter, moose calves, along with the rest of the farm elks, are transferred to the forest. There they graze freely and eat from the same feeders.

The diet of moose for this period is made up of branches and bark of trees. And also once a day they are invited to special pens, where they are waiting for oatmeal and a bucket of warm salted water. Separate pens are needed to avoid conflicts between animals when distributing food.

After the end of the last excursion, the elk calves are again fed with milk mixture and taken away to graze. Until the morning, the calves will be left to their own devices, they will be able to find and eat all the plants they need, and in the morning they will be called again to drink “milk”.

By October, the moose calves gain weight up to 100 kilograms, molt, and are not at all like the redheads that we saw in May. Now drink milk formula and chat with visitors they are called to the farm. This is done solely for the convenience of visitors, because. in autumn the roads become impassable and it is difficult to get to the summer camp. For moose calves, it is now not difficult to walk a couple of kilometers, and they independently find the pastures they need. Even if there is a recurrence of “controlled grazing”: the boss demands to take the elk, for example, to the river, then at first they go there for the teacher, but in the morning they still run from the pastures they have chosen “for porridge”. Milk formula is now being gradually replaced with "oatmeal" - ground oats steamed in lightly salted hot water. Since that time, oatmeal has become the main delicacy of domestic moose.

With the establishment of deep snow cover, all elks of the farm, including calves of the year, are transferred to the felling site, live there together, eat from the same feeders and enjoy complete freedom, with the exception of about an hour a day - the time of felling the forest and distributing oatmeal, when to avoid conflicts and injuries from falling trees, all animals are bred in small pens. The sound of a working chainsaw attracts pet moose, they know that there will be fresh branches soon and they love to smell the exhaust fumes. Any strong smell attracts and excites the moose. For an hour spent in a paddock, moose will eat almost a bucket of oatmeal, drink a bucket of salted warm water. Separate pens are needed to avoid conflicts between animals when distributing food.

Currently, in the process of rearing a new generation, the behavioral biological characteristics of the species are increasingly used, and animals are subjected to violence and restriction of freedom to a minimal extent - probably simply because funding for the development of new methods of violence has decreased almost to zero. No one has ever carried out any conscious, scientifically based selection of "domestic" moose, and an orphan elk brought up on a farm from a hunting farm does not differ in its behavior from "domestic" moose born on a farm in the 6-7th generation. Thus, at the moment, the main result of all the work on the domestication of the elk, in my opinion, is the following: the elk does not require "domestication" - it is a ready-made domestic animal (5), if it is properly raised and educated, but the way of keeping it is significantly different from the ways of keeping other domestic animals due to the peculiarities of digestion and the need for a very diverse feed.

Although farm animals are not subject to artificial selection, they are still subject to almost natural selection. As long as 1-3-year-old moose have the opportunity to leave the farm and use this opportunity, only those who want to live next to a person remain on the farm and give birth to offspring. If this process is not interfered with in the name of momentary profit, perhaps in many generations it will be possible to notice the difference between wild and domestic elk.

Literature:

1. Bogomolova E.M. Elk and newborn calf - a single bio-organismal functional system // Physiological Cybernetics Abstracts of the I All-Union Conference on Physiological Cybernetics. - M., 1981. - S. 268-269.
2. Bogomolova E.M., Kurochkin Yu.A. Moose giving birth. Behavior of a moose cow and a newborn calf // Zoological journal. - 1984. - T.63. - No. II. - S. 1713-1724.
3. Bogomolova E.M., Kurochkin Yu.A. Systemogenesis of behavioral acts. - In the book. "Theory of systemogenesis". - M.: "Horizon", 1997, p. 277-453.
4. Bogomolova E.M., Kurochkin Yu.A. Minaev A.N. The importance of the place of birth for the formation of a systemic connection between a moose cow and a newborn calf. In book. "5th Congress of the All-Union Theriology Society of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR", abstract. dokl., v. 2, M., 1990, p. 86-87
5. Minaev A. N. (2003). Elk as a pet. Agroecological Bulletin of the World Conservation Union for the CIS, No. 5, June, pp. 17-19
6. Official site of the Sumarokovskaya elk farm.

Losefarm:

Postal address: 157931, Kostroma region, Krasnoselsky district, p.o. Gridino, der. Sumarokovo, moose farm, director Grachev Nikolai Leonidovich.

Telephone for inquiries and appointments (8 494 2) 35 94 33 (installed in the office in Kostroma, at night on an answering machine, can receive a fax),

Cell phones +7 910 958 01 67 (Director Grachev Nikolay Leonidovich), +7 903 895 40 78 (Chief Accountant and appointment for excursions).

60,000-180,000 rubles

or elk(Alces alces)

Class - mammals
Detachment - artiodactyls

Suborder - ruminants
Family - deer

Genus - moose

1. Alaskan elk (Alces alcesgigas) large subspecies;
2. East Siberian elk (Alces alcespfizenmayeri), large subspecies;
3. Ussuri elk (Alces alcescameloides), the smallest elk with deer-like horns;
4. Eurasian elk (Alces alces alces);
5. American Moose (Alces alces americanus).

Appearance

Male body length up to 3 m, height at withers up to 2.3 m, tail length 12-13 cm; weight 360-600 kg; in the Far East of Russia and Canada - up to 655 kg. The females are smaller. In appearance, the elk is noticeably different from other deer. His body and neck are short, his withers are high, in the form of a hump. The legs are strongly elongated, therefore, in order to get drunk, the elk is forced to go deep into the water or kneel on its front legs. The head is large, hook-nosed, with an overhanging fleshy upper lip. Under the throat there is a soft leathery outgrowth (“earring”), reaching 25-40 cm. The coat is coarse, brownish-black; legs light grey, almost white.

Males have huge (the largest in modern mammals) spatulate horns; their span reaches 180 cm, weight - 20-30 kg. An elk sheds its antlers annually in November - December and walks without them until April - May. The females are hornless.

Habitat

Elk is common in the forest zone of the Northern Hemisphere, less often in the forest-steppe and on the outskirts of the steppe zone. In Europe, it is found in Poland, the Baltic states, the Czech Republic, Belarus, in the north of Ukraine and in Scandinavia and Central Russia; in Asia - from northern Mongolia and northeastern China to the northern part of the Siberian taiga. In North America, it is found in Alaska, Canada and the northeastern United States, reaching the state of Colorado.

Lifestyle

Moose inhabit various forests, thickets of willows along the banks of steppe rivers and lakes, in the forest-tundra they keep along birch and aspen forests. In the steppe and tundra in the summer they are also found far from the forest, sometimes for hundreds of kilometers. Of great importance for moose is the presence of swamps, quiet rivers and lakes, where in summer they feed on aquatic vegetation and escape from the heat. In winter, moose require mixed and coniferous forests with dense undergrowth. In that part of the range where the height of the snow cover is not more than 30-50 cm, moose live sedentary; where it reaches 70 cm, they make transitions to less snowy areas for the winter. The transition to wintering places is gradual and lasts from October to December-January. The first to go are females with calves, the last are adult males and females without calves. Moose walk 10-15 km a day. Reverse, spring migrations occur during the melting of snow and in the reverse order: adult males go first, females with calves last.

Moose do not have specific periods of feeding and rest. In summer, the heat makes them nocturnal animals, during the day driving them into clearings where the wind blows, into lakes and swamps where you can hide up to your neck in water, or into dense coniferous young growths that provide little protection from insects. In winter, moose feed during the day, and at night almost all the time they stay on the couch. In severe frosts, animals lie down in loose snow so that only the head and withers stick out above it, which reduces heat transfer. In winter, the elk tramples the snow heavily in the area called by the hunters the elk camp, the stall. The location of the stalls depends on the feeding places. In Central Russia, these are mainly young pine forests, in Siberia - thickets of willows or shrub birches along the banks of rivers, in the Far East - sparse coniferous forests with deciduous undergrowth. One stall can be used by several moose at the same time.

Moose feed on trees, shrubs and herbaceous vegetation, as well as mosses, lichens and fungi. In summer, they eat leaves, taking them out due to their growth from a considerable height; they feed on aquatic and near-water plants (watch, marigold, egg capsules, water lilies, horsetails), as well as tall grasses in burned areas and cutting areas - fireweed, sorrel. At the end of summer they look for cap mushrooms, blueberry twigs and lingonberries with berries. From September, they begin to bite the shoots and branches of trees and shrubs, and by November they almost completely switch to branch food. The main winter food items for moose are willow, pine (in North America - fir), aspen, mountain ash, birch, raspberry; in the thaw they gnaw at the bark. During the day, an adult elk eats: in summer about 35 kg of feed, and in winter - 12-15 kg; per year - about 7 tons. With a large number of moose damage forest nurseries and plantings. Almost everywhere moose visit salt licks; in winter, salt is licked even from highways.

Moose run fast, up to 56 km/h; swim well. Looking for aquatic plants, they can keep their heads under water for more than a minute. They defend themselves from predators with blows from their front legs. Of the sense organs, the elk has the best developed hearing and sense of smell; vision is weak - he does not see a motionless person at a distance of a few tens of meters.

Moose rarely attack humans first. Usually the attack occurs when irritating factors or approaching the calves.

reproduction

Males and single females live alone or in small groups of 3-4 animals. In summer and winter, adult females walk with calves, forming groups of 3-4 animals, sometimes males and single females join them, forming a herd of 5-8 animals. In the spring, these herds break up.

Moose rut occurs in the same season as deer, in September-October, and is accompanied by a characteristic deaf roar of males (“groan”). During the rut, males and females are excited and aggressive, they can even attack a person. Males arrange fights, sometimes to the death. Unlike most deer, the elk is a conditional monogamous, rarely mating with more than one female.

Pregnancy in moose cow lasts 225-240 days, calving is extended from April to June. There is usually one calf in a litter; old females can give birth to twins. The color of the newborn is light red, without white spots characteristic of deer. Moose calves can get up a few minutes after birth, after 3 days they move freely. Milk feeding lasts 3.5-4 months; moose cow milk has a fat content of 8-13%, that is, 3-4 times fatter than cow's milk, and contains 5 times more proteins (12-16%).

Moose become sexually mature at 2 years old. After 12 years, the elk begins to age; in nature, moose older than 10 years are no more than 3%.

Moose are kept all year round in open enclosures with canopy houses - in winter, they easily tolerate any frost. The height of the fence of the enclosure must be at least 3 meters, the lattice of the fence must be such that the animals do not stick their heads through the holes between the bars, and when breeding, the cubs would not run away from the corral. Houses for moose are made of wooden, small area. The animal can hide there from wind, rain or snow, but in the houses they arrange a nursery for hay or grass of the appropriate height, install water tanks and a feeder for juicy and concentrated feed.

From birth to 40 days of age, moose are kept in pavilions (small pens). In the summer, moose calves up to a year old and milking moose cows use free pasture regime. Young animals older than a year, as well as breeding bulls and moose cows in the calving season are in the paddock.

The diet of moose in captivity differs from the natural diet of wild animals. First of all, domestic moose have a reduced choice of food. In addition, the diet includes food that the elk does not consume in its natural habitat. The set of feeds, their ratio (ration structure), the content of the most important nutrients play a decisive role in the health status, reproductive abilities and life span of moose. The task is to ensure the normal functioning of the digestive system of a ruminant, which in its natural environment consumes large amounts of woody fodder.

The basis of the summer diet is green grassy food and tree greens. In addition, top dressing is given from oatmeal, table salt is added. In the summer, feed is brought on an MTZ tractor: branches of aspen, birch, willow and other trees are placed in compact piles in the usual feeding places, and grass (clover, timothy grass, meadowsweet, fireweed) are laid out in special feeders. Feed is brought in in the evening so that they dry out less.

Salt, chalk, and bone meal are given to moose daily as mineral feed. The average daily amount of minerals for moose should be: 50g. salt and 50 gr. chalk (or bone meal). In addition, it is necessary to ensure that moose receive the required amount of vitamins. The most important are three types of vitamin: A, D3, E. Their sources can be vegetables, grain feed, as well as special vitamin complexes.

In captivity, moose live up to 25 years.

The famous expert of Russian fauna L.P. Sabaneev had tame moose, and he once gave an interesting description of their life at home. In the journal "Nature and Hunting" Sabaneev L.P. wrote an interesting story about his tamed moose, showing amazing intelligence, quick wit and the ability to become attached to humans and animals, to the point of directly expressed longing in the absence of those to whom they are accustomed.

The zoologist Simashko also watched the calf, which showed many natural higher feelings. Despite his extreme youth, this calf knew his nickname very well, ran to it with pleasure and recognized his tutor not only by appearance, but also by voice.

In the 60s of the XIX century, two elks were caught in the Lobinovsky estate (Smolensk province, Vyazemsky district). These moose were perfectly tamed, divorced up to a dozen, harnessed to carts and did many chores well.

A similar example was in the 70s of the XIX century in Finland, near Vyborg; one local landowner went hunting in a cart, or in a sleigh that was pulled by an elk.

In Yuryev at the beginning of the 20th century, a beautifully trained elk appeared on the races, which produced wild delight among fans of fast driving.

In Lithuania, Poland, Courland, Livonia and Estonia, in the old days, moose were used for riding needs.

Among the northern Scandinavian peoples, moose used to be in the position of domestic farm animals. In Sweden, they were even used for military purposes. So, under the army of King Charles IX, moose walked in teams and carried couriers, easily running 36 Swedish miles a day.

Later, for some reason, the taming of moose and their breeding was abandoned, and only before the war of 1914 did they again start breeding them near Petrograd, along with deer, roe deer and other animals.
A well-known specialist in fur farming A.V. The margrave, on whose advice and instructions the moose were bred, declared the benefits of their breeding.

“The system of raising calves is simple. In May or June, a hunted calf, even if it is still barely on its feet, is drunk like a calf with cow's milk - and by no means in more than the last quantity. Then you can add oatmeal to the milk, and dilute the milk itself with boiled water (warm), and do this slowly: the oatmeal grows in quantity, and the milk decreases and is added with water.

Fattening must be done with strict regularity, at a certain time, and it is necessary to observe the proper cleanliness of dishes and swill, because from failure to fulfill these factors, moose calves (more often than calves) have diarrhea, leading young animals to death. It is best if there is an opportunity to put a calf under a cow; such a feeding is always unmistakable. The summer heat is harmful to moose calves, therefore it is necessary to take care that they have fresh water all the time, and that they can hide in damp-cool sheds or dense thickets of alder, willow and other plants.
If moose calves are reared in isolation, they need to be fed, in addition to hay and oats, also woody leaves, especially soft ones, like tavolia and mountain ash (tansy).

Moose calves grazing in the pasture gladly pounce on such plants, but they also eat aspen, alder, ferns and various bark. If they have their mother with them - a cow or some unnecessary mare, they will not go far from her. Subsequently, moose calves are especially fond of sour cereals, bitter herbs, reindeer mosses and other mosses of marshes.
Undoubtedly, they love both barley and other grains, eat baked bread and flour mash. The latter, however, should not be abused, since moose calves quickly grow fat from it and die from bloating. It is possible to produce feeding with cabbage porridge and many garden, fruit and kitchen waste.

The best pastures for moose are peat bogs, willow forests along the black river and alder forests, which are interspersed with rare aspen, birch, thin pine forests and spruce forests - places unsuitable for grazing other livestock.

With such feed, in the first half of November, moose calves turn into strong and tall animals for agricultural purposes, weighing up to 8-10 pounds and even more (according to A.V. Markgraf, up to 12-15 pounds).

As already mentioned, moose calves especially quickly grow up to the point that even grown ones run after a person, similarly to a dog. Males are more difficult to tame, and during the mating season - August-October - they are angry and dangerous. In general, males that are not determined to have a fetus are best castrated: they become meek and obedient, fit for work all year round.
However, those bred in captivity are already appeased in the second generation even without this event.

Moose cow calves very often with only one calf, but the old ones are also brought in pairs. Suckers suck their mother until the next marriage term of their mother, and even kneel due to their great age. However, this, of course, does not prevent them from eating plant food, i.e. foot food.

The calf, taken from the uterus, weighs 25-40 pounds, this is in the month of May. And in November it reaches 15 pounds! What precocious English pig can compete with such productivity?

Please note that it is necessary to feed the pig with valuable, concentrated feed: milk, flour, grain, root crops. And the food of a reared calf is willow, alder, etc. rubbish of our forest wastelands. Meanwhile, by the named moment, he gives you a valuable elk, delicious meat, a delicacy-jelly, etc. I advise you to pay attention to this side of the economic benefit that can be obtained from moss swamps and garbage forest wastelands, which are absolutely unsuitable for grazing ordinary livestock.

The cost of a live elk, according to the same Margrave, is very impressive. So, fed on the farm S.A. Ellers, two moose were sold for 750 rubles (a lot of money in those days)! Undoubtedly, this figure is monstrous and cannot be stable, however, figures of 50-75 and 100 rubles apiece are no longer uncommon.

“In addition to being sold live, products delivered by elk are quite important and valuable. Leather, meat, milk, lard, wool, antlers... Raw elk skin sometimes weighs up to three pounds and is simply dressed for suede (in autumn or winter, while summer skins are bad and full of holes from gadflies).

Leather dressed with wool goes mainly to dokhas; True, it is worse than a deer, for it is both heavy and not so warm. Moose suede is more solid than deer suede. In the old days, a significant part of our army was dressed up in leggings. The wool left over from the manufacture of suede is used to stuff high-grade mattresses and artistic furniture.

Elk's milk is especially tasty, and northern foreigners attribute healing power to it: and it supposedly sharply restores weak strength and is useful for sick breasts.

Moose meat, although coarser than deer meat, is far from bad when skillfully cooked! The meat of young moose is especially juicy and appetizing. It is fried in a piece with bacon, with garlic, cutlets are also prepared from it. The upper lip of the elk is considered the most expensive and tastier. From the lips becomes an excellent jelly; it, too, is marinated in vinegar with the proper spices. For example, the Voguls prepare the lip of an elk for a wedding for young people. This meal, in their opinion, is worthy of the notorious "amrita" or other such means. Moose brain fried with eggs is also a particularly tasty dish, etc.”

However, we will not talk only about the benefits of breeding elks, we will not consider them as just a food product, we will look at their breeding from a purely hunting point of view, we will breed them for the purpose of hunting, breed them wherever possible, where there is a forest. Who is not attracted by the hunt for these marvelous forest beauties, who does not love her?

“Males change their horns annually, shedding them (sometimes deliberately, knocking them down with force) in January - February - March, depending on the age of the animal. By the month of August, the new antlers of the elk are already in their absolute form and strength. In the first autumn, a calf develops hairy tubercles or “navels” above the eyes. In the spring, these pimples burst and “jays” or “matches” erupt from them. In the summer, the spokes grow sharply and occasionally reach up to six inches in length, but without processes. After the fall of the horns in the winter in the third year of age, male elks already grow real horns, i.e. instead of "jays", forked horns, etc. In a word, with the age of the horn, the data become wider and have an increasing number of processes. The most hardened elk bear 10-11 processes on each horn. They assure that with old age the number of shoots becomes less, and bulls, which in their full prime of life have 20-22 shoots on both horns, at the end of their days are able to remain with 8-10 shoots!

All this, of course, is wonderful, - readers will tell me, - I was perfectly engaged in breeding moose, but is this breeding possible all the time and everywhere, is it possible for each individual person, are there places suitable for breeding moose all the time and everywhere?

It is possible to breed moose almost everywhere, it must be remembered that it is possible to breed moose not only in wooded areas, but also in places that are not particularly rich in forests and even completely in steppe places.
True, the elk is a forest animal, he especially loves forests, but the writer of these lines happened to see in his homeland, in the Vyatka province, how elks lived peacefully in a practically treeless area, grazing day and night with peasant herds in the field.
About two years ago, a flock of elks lived for a whole summer near the village of Bidegala, 6 versts from the city of Slobodsky, and the peasants of the said village all the time saw them grazing in the field, together with peasant horses and cows.
That same summer, two moose became attached to the herd of the local leather breeder M.I. Fofonova, and, without hesitation, often, together with the cows, went into the stables, where she stood idle until the morning, not being frightened by people entering the stable.

Separate hunting societies have recently begun to breed foxes, martens, skunks, sables, minks and other animals, why shouldn't these societies start breeding moose? Why don't private individuals - hunters and non-hunters - pay attention to this matter, why not try to deal with it?

Based on the materials of the article: P. Likhachev (P. Goremyka), Hunting Bulletin No. 13-14, 1917