Tag: moose

Moose’s Sharp Hearing Attributed to Antlers

On March 24, 2008

From: The Guardian

They are some of the most extravagant headgear in the animal kingdom, but a moose’s antlers are not just for show. Scientists believe they act as elaborate hearing aids that help males to find calling females.

A study has found that the antlers’ sound-gathering qualities boost the hearing of the animals by 19%.

Moose, which are called elk in Europe, are well-known for their impressive hearing. Their ears are more than 60 times larger than those of a human, and their calls can travel nearly two miles.

Scientists had previously suspected the antlers helped with locating mates because males with them were found to be better able to locate females than those without.

George Bubenik, of the University of Guelph, Ontario, and his son Peter, of Cleveland State University in Ohio, decided to test the antler amplifier hypothesis by using a moose skull and a fake ear made by a TV special effects team.

The two scientists put a microphone inside the fake ear, placed between the sweeping Alaskan moose antlers.

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Alaska: Moose rescued from Chilkat River the cowboy way

By Jeff Fenske

On February 23, 2008

In Alaska

From: Anchorage Daily News

DeWitt, who works on a state road crew, was driving a loader up the Haines Highway about 7:30 a.m. Friday when he overheard a radio conversation about a moose stuck in the ice near Mile 15.

He figured Fish and Game would handle the situation, but when he arrived 45 minutes later, he found the animal smashing itself against the ice, trying to ram its way out of a hole midway across a 100-foot channel.

“(Fish and Game) didn’t know what to do. I decided to take the bull by the horns. It was right out there in the middle of God and everybody,” said DeWitt, who was joined by other motorists who’d seen or heard of the situation, including Mike Kinison and freelance wildlife photographer Ron Horn.

The cow’s thrashing expanded the size of the hole and eliminated thin ice, giving rescuers confidence in the strength of the ledge that remained. At first, the moose rebuffed help attempts, swimming away when rescuers drew near. Eventually, she seemed to warm to resident Bud Stewart, lifting her head up out of the water to his outstretched hand and allowing him to pet her several times on the nose.

Using a rope Stewart brought from his house, the men lassoed the cow’s snout and eventually got a line around her neck.

[…]

“She never made a peep or a snort or gave us a foul look or nothing. She just laid there as peaceful as can be,” DeWitt said.

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Alaska: Falling Moose Nearly Takes Out Trooper—Always Gotta Be Ready

By Jeff Fenske

On February 13, 2008

In Alaska, Revival

From: Anchorage Daily News

We’ve seen the highway signs that warn of falling rocks, and we’ve seen the ones that warn of moose crossing.

Now Howard Peterson of the Alaska State Troopers wonders if we need a new sign:

Watch for falling moose.

A swing-shift trooper based in Girdwood, Peterson was cruising the Seward Highway the night of Feb. 2 a couple miles north of McHugh Creek [about 10 miles from Anchorage – ed.] when something big and black fell from the sky, landing about 20 feet from his car.

“Falling rock!” he thought, ready to steer clear if it bounced onto the highway.

When the rock didn’t roll or shatter, Peterson’s brain came up with a crazy image:

“Falling moose?”

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Falling Cow Hits Car (After Church)–Always gotta be ready!

Always Gotta Be Ready: Man Killed When Engine Crashes Through Roof