Editing Moose (section)

=== Natural predators ===
[[File:Moose Tiger.jpg|thumb|left|[[Iron Age]] saddle from [[Siberia]], depicting a moose being hunted by a [[Siberian tiger]].]]
[[File:Wolves attack moose 2012-04-12 001 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Moose attacked by wolves]]

A full-grown moose has few enemies except [[Siberian tiger]]s (''Panthera tigris tigris'') which regularly prey on adult moose,<ref name=FBW>{{cite book| author=Frasef, A.| year=2012| title=Feline Behaviour and Welfare| publisher=CABI| pages=72–77 |isbn=978-1-84593-926-7}}</ref><ref>[http://www.tigrisfoundation.nl/cms/publish/content/showpage.asp?pageid=25 Tigris Foundation dedicated to the survival of the Amur tiger and leopard in the wild : UK HOME] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110817021258/http://www.tigrisfoundation.nl/cms/publish/content/showpage.asp?pageid=25 |date=August 17, 2011 }}. Tigrisfoundation.nl (November 13, 1999). Retrieved on 2011-01-09.</ref><ref>Hayward, M. W., Jędrzejewski, W., & Jedrzejewska, B. (2012). ''Prey preferences of the tiger Panthera tigris''. Journal of Zoology, 286(3), 221-231.</ref> but a pack of [[Gray wolf|gray wolves]] (''Canis lupus'') can still pose a threat, especially to females with calves.<ref>{{cite web |first1=Nancy |last1=Long |first2=Kurt |last2=Savikko |url=http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/pubs/notebook/furbear/wolf.php |title=Wolf: Wildlife Notebook Series – Alaska Department of Fish and Game |publisher=Adfg.state.ak.us |date=December 17, 2007 |access-date=November 27, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101115175008/http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/pubs/notebook/furbear/wolf.php |archive-date=November 15, 2010 }}</ref> [[Brown bear]]s (''Ursus arctos'')<ref name="Nancy Long / Kurt Savikko"/> are also known to prey on moose of various sizes and are the only predator besides the wolf to attack moose both in Eurasia and North America. In Western Russia, moose provide about 15% annual estimated dietary energy content for brown bears and are the most important food source for these predators during spring.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ogurtsov |first1=Sergey S. |last2=Khapugin |first2=Anatoliy A. |last3=Zheltukhin |first3=Anatoliy S. |last4=Fedoseeva |first4=Elena B. |last5=Antropov |first5=Alexander V. |last6=Mar Delgado |first6=María del |last7=Penteriani |first7=Vincenzo |title=Brown bear food habits in natural and human-modified landscapes in West-European Russia |journal=Ursus |date=11 January 2024 |volume=2023 |issue=34e11 |doi=10.2192/URSUS-D-22-00007|s2cid=266933839 }}</ref> However, Brown bears are more likely to scavenge a wolf kill or to take young moose than to hunt adult moose on their own.<ref>{{cite web |first1=Nancy |last1=Long |first2=Kurt |last2=Savikko |url=http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/pubs/notebook/biggame/brnbear.php |title=Brown Bear: Wildlife Notebook Series – Alaska Department of Fish and Game |publisher=Adfg.state.ak.us |date=August 7, 2009 |access-date=November 27, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091129232831/http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/pubs/notebook/biggame/brnbear.php |archive-date=November 29, 2009 }}</ref><ref>Opseth, O. (1998). ''Brown bear (Ursus arctos) diet and predation on moose (Alces alces) calves in the southern taiga zone in Sweden''. Cand Sci Thesis, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim.</ref><ref>Mattson, D. J. (1997). ''Use of ungulates by Yellowstone grizzly bears Ursus arctos''. Biological Conservation, 81(1), 161-177.</ref> [[American black bear|Black bears]] (''Ursus americanus'') and [[cougar]]s (''Puma concolor'') can be significant predators of moose calves in May and June and can, in rare instances, prey on adults (mainly cows rather than the larger bulls).<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin/tpl/Downloads/URSUS/Vol_5/Schwartz_Franzmann_Vol_5.pdf |jstor=3872518 |title=Effects of Tree Crushing on Black Bear Predation on Moose Calves |first1=Charles C. |last1=Schwartz |first2=Albert W. |last2=Franzmann |name-list-style=amp |journal=Bears: Their Biology and Management |volume=5 |pages=40–44 |publisher=A Selection of Papers from the Fifth International Conference on Bear Research and Management, Madison, Wisconsin, USA, February 1980 |year=1983 |doi=10.2307/3872518 |access-date=December 10, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217060309/http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin/tpl/Downloads/URSUS/Vol_5/Schwartz_Franzmann_Vol_5.pdf |archive-date=December 17, 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hww.ca/hww2.asp?id=87 |title=Hinterland Who's Who – Cougar |publisher=Hww.ca |access-date=November 27, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100926111053/http://hww.ca/hww2.asp?id=87 |archive-date=September 26, 2010 }}</ref> [[Wolverine]]s (''Gulo gulo'') are most likely to eat moose as carrion but have killed moose, including adults, when the large ungulates are weakened by harsh winter conditions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wolverine Species Profile, Alaska Department of Fish and Game |url=https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wolverine.printerfriendly#:~:text=Wolverines%20are%20opportunistic%3B%20eating%20about,are%20well%20adapted%20for%20scavenging.&text=In%20the%20right%20situations%2C%20wolverines,when%20they%20are%20most%20vulnerable. |website=www.adfg.alaska.gov |language=en |access-date=2022-04-02 |archive-date=2022-04-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220416033334/http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wolverine.printerfriendly#:~:text=Wolverines%20are%20opportunistic%3B%20eating%20about,are%20well%20adapted%20for%20scavenging.&text=In%20the%20right%20situations%2C%20wolverines,when%20they%20are%20most%20vulnerable. |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Scrafford, Matthew A., and Mark S. Boyce. "Temporal patterns of wolverine (Gulo gulo luscus) foraging in the boreal forest." Journal of Mammalogy 99, no. 3 (2018): 693-701.</ref><ref name=Smith>{{cite web|url=http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-499-01-0001.pdf|title=Gulo gulo – The American Society of Mammalogists|publisher=smith.edu|access-date=June 22, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120617132035/http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-499-01-0001.pdf|archive-date=June 17, 2012}}</ref> [[Orca]]s (''Orcinus orca'') are the moose's only confirmed marine predator as they have been known to prey on moose and other deer swimming between islands out of North America's Northwest Coast. However, such kills are rare and a matter of opportunity, as moose are not a regular part of the orca diet.<ref name="BairdBaird2006">{{cite book|first1=Robert W.|last1=Baird|first2=Robin W.|last2=Baird|title=Killer Whales of the World: Natural History and Conservation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rjksm-5-ap4C&pg=PA23|access-date=February 2, 2011|date=August 31, 2006|publisher=Voyageur Press|isbn=978-0-7603-2654-1|pages=23–|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721191653/http://books.google.com/books?id=Rjksm-5-ap4C&pg=PA23|archive-date=July 21, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> There is at least one recorded instance of a moose being scavenged by a [[Greenland shark]] (''Somniosus microcephalus'').<ref>{{cite news|title=Moose-eating shark rescued in Newfoundland harbour|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/moose-eating-shark-rescued-in-newfoundland-harbour-1.2434102|website=CBC Newfoundland & Labrador|publisher=Canadian Broatcasting Corporation|access-date=May 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160523025548/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/moose-eating-shark-rescued-in-newfoundland-harbour-1.2434102|archive-date=May 23, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Moose mom with calves and a bear, Deanli National Park.png|thumb|Moose with calves being approached by a brown bear, Denali National Park, Alaska]]
In some areas, moose are the primary source of food for wolves. Moose usually flee upon detecting wolves. Wolves usually follow moose at a distance of {{convert|100|to|400|m|ft|-2|sp=us}}, occasionally at a distance of {{convert|2|to|3|km|frac=2|spell=in|sp=us}}. Attacks from wolves against young moose may last seconds, though sometimes they can be drawn out for days with adults. Sometimes, wolves will chase moose into shallow streams or onto frozen rivers, where their mobility is greatly impeded. Moose will sometimes stand their ground and defend themselves by charging at the wolves or lashing out at them with their powerful hooves. Wolves typically kill moose by tearing at their haunches and [[perineum]], causing massive [[blood loss]]. Occasionally, a wolf may immobilize a moose by biting its sensitive nose, the pain of which can [[paralysis|paralyze]] a moose.<ref name="Graves">{{cite book|author = Graves, Will|url = http://www.wolvesinrussia.com/|title = Wolves in Russia: Anxiety throughout the ages|year = 2007|page = 222|isbn = 978-1-55059-332-7|publisher = Detselig Enterprises|location = Calgary|oclc = 80431846|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090802182158/http://www.wolvesinrussia.com/|archive-date = August 2, 2009}}</ref> Wolf packs primarily target calves and elderly animals, but can and will take healthy, adult moose. Moose between the ages of two and eight are seldom killed by wolves.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nwf.org:80/nationalwildlife/article.cfm?issueID=35&articleID=589 |title=Watching Wolves On a Wild Ride By Les Line, National Wildlife Federation, December/January 2001, vol. 39 no. 1 |publisher=Nwf.org:80 |access-date=February 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080308150339/http://www.nwf.org/nationalwildlife/article.cfm?issueID=35&articleID=589 |archive-date=March 8, 2008 }}</ref> Though moose are usually hunted by packs, there are cases in which single wolves have successfully killed healthy, fully-grown moose.<ref name="raven">{{cite web |url=http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF17/1702.html |title=Alaska Science Forum, June 10, 2004 ''Are ravens responsible for wolf packs?'' Article #1702 by Ned Rozell |publisher=Gi.alaska.edu |date=June 10, 2004 |access-date=February 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124100228/http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF17/1702.html |archive-date=November 24, 2010 }}</ref><ref>''Carnivores of the World'' by Dr. Luke Hunter. Princeton University Press (2011), {{ISBN|978-0-691-15228-8}}</ref>

Research into moose predation suggests that their response to perceived threats is learned rather than instinctual. In practical terms this means moose are more vulnerable in areas where wolf or bear populations were decimated in the past but are now rebounding. These same studies suggest, however, that moose learn quickly and adapt, fleeing an area if they hear or smell wolves, bears, or scavenger birds such as ravens.<ref>Berger, Joel; Swenson, Jon E.; Persson, Inga-Lill [https://web.archive.org/web/20130512211113/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-70741145.html Recolonizing Carnivores and Naive Prey: Conservation Lessons from Pleistocene Extinctions.] ''Science'' September 2, 2001</ref>

Moose are also subject to various diseases and forms of parasitism. In northern Europe, the [[Cephenemyia ulrichii|moose botfly]] is a parasite whose range seems to be spreading.<ref name=larver>{{cite journal|last=Jaenson|first=Thomas G.T.|title=Larver av nässtyngfluga i ögat - ovanligt men allvarligt problem. Fall av human oftalmomyiasis från Dalarna och sydöstra Finland redovisas (summary)|journal=Läkartidningen|volume=108|issue=16|year=2011|url=http://ltarkiv.lakartidningen.se/artNo39551P|access-date=June 21, 2011|quote=Moose bot fly larvae are common parasites of moose (''Alces alces'') in north and central Sweden. Last year, however, ''C. ulrichii'' was on three occasions recorded for the first time from Småland, south Sweden.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927083253/http://ltarkiv.lakartidningen.se/artNo39551P|archive-date=September 27, 2011}}</ref>