Editing Moose (section)

===Habitat===
[[File:Thermal image of a cow moose during winter.jpg|thumb|Thermal image of a cow moose in the winter. Her thick, coarse fur with hollow hairs only measures an average of 8.3 °C (15 °F) above the ambient temperature of {{Convert|-23|C|F}}, showing low heat-loss.]]

Moose require habitat with adequate edible plants (e.g., pond grasses, young trees and shrubs), cover from predators, and protection from extremely hot or cold weather. Moose travel among different habitats with the seasons to address these requirements.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite report|url= https://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource003858_Rep5484.pdf|title= New Hampshire's moose population vs climate change|first= Kristine|last= Rines|publisher= New Hampshire Fish and Game Department|access-date= May 15, 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180516103753/https://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource003858_Rep5484.pdf|archive-date= May 16, 2018|url-status= live}}</ref> Moose are cold-adapted mammals with thickened skin, dense, heat-retaining coat, and a low surface:volume ratio, which provides excellent cold tolerance but poor heat tolerance. Moose survive hot weather by accessing shade or cooling wind, or by immersion in cool water. In hot weather, moose are often found wading or swimming in lakes or ponds. When heat-stressed, moose may fail to adequately forage in summer and may not gain adequate body fat to survive the winter. Also, moose cows may not calve without adequate summer weight gain. Moose require access to both young forest for browsing and mature forest for shelter and cover. Forest disturbed by fire and logging promotes the growth of fodder for moose. Moose also require access to mineral licks, safe places for calving and aquatic feeding sites.<ref name="autogenerated1"/>

Moose avoid areas with little or no snow as this increases the risk of predation by wolves and avoid areas with deep snow, as this impairs mobility. Thus, moose select habitat on the basis of trade-offs between risk of predation, food availability, and snow depth.<ref>Dussault, Christian, Jean‐Pierre Ouellet, Réhaume Courtois, Jean Huot, Laurier Breton, and Hélène Jolicoeur. "Linking moose habitat selection to limiting factors." Ecography 28, no. 5 (2005): 619-628.</ref> With reintroduction of bison into boreal forest, there was some concern that bison would compete with moose for winter habitat, and thereby worsen the population decline of moose. However, this does not appear to be a problem. Moose prefer sub-alpine shrublands in early winter, while bison prefer wet sedge valley meadowlands in early winter. In late winter, moose prefer river valleys with deciduous forest cover or alpine terrain above the tree line, while bison preferred wet sedge meadowlands or sunny southern grassy slopes.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Jung|first1= Thomas S.|first2= Sophie M.|last2= Czetwertynski|first3= Fiona K. A.|last3= Schmiegelow|title=Boreal forest titans do not clash: low overlap in winter habitat selection by moose (''Alces americanus'') and reintroduced bison (''Bison bison'')|journal= European Journal of Wildlife Research|volume= 64|number=3|year= 2018|page= 25|doi=10.1007/s10344-018-1184-z|bibcode= 2018EJWR...64...25J|s2cid= 49315294}}</ref>