European elk

The Elk or Moose (Alces alces Linnaeus, 1758) is a large ungulate belonging to the order Artiodactyla, family Cervidae which has a circumpolar (i.e. found in the vicinity of a terrestrial pole) distribution in the boreal forests of the Northern Hemisphere. European elk which is a sub-species Alces alces alces should not be confused with North American elk, Cervus canadensis, which are a different species with Alces alces commonly called moose in North America. The name “Moose” come from the Algonquin word “moosu” for “twig biter” or “he strips off young tree bark” (Rea and Child 2007). The word elk, like the Swedish word älg (pronounced /elj/), is taken from the Latin alces and this is derived from the Greek word “alké” which means strength (Bjärvall and Ullström 1986).

The European subspecies of elk Alces alces spp. alces is generally regarded as medium-sized with males weighing about 320 to 475 kg and females between 275 to 375 kg with shoulder height ranging from 1.7 to 2.1 m. European elk are found in Scandinavia, the Baltic states, European Russia (up to the Yenissei river), Belarus, Poland and northern Ukraine and was formerly widely distributed in Central Europe. Three isolated sub-populations are found in the southern Czech Republic, and the species is occasionally recorded in Germany, Croatia, Hungary and Romania. Since the 1960’s it has been slowly extending its range southwards along the rivers into the northern Caucasus lowlands. Within this area it ranges from sea level up to at least 1,500 m in Europe (IUCN 2016) and generally spends the summer at higher altitudes or latitudes and concentrates in forest for the winter.

Elk is found in a range of coniferous and deciduous forest habitats, from the northern forest biomes (tundra and taiga) southwards through boreal to temperate zones. It prefers damp habitats close to water bodies. Elk are adapted to cold environments and are intolerant to high temperatures, however, moose can adapt to climate changes using both physiological and behavioural mechanisms to reduce thermal stress (Belova 2013). In the growing season (from May to October), elk prefer forest edges, wet deciduous stands, marshes and bogs and even in the small groves and shrubs. In winter, animals select habitats with higher food supply (e.g. forests with pine and aspen plantations, clear-cuts and wetlands) (Fauna of Lithuania 1988; Miller and Litvaitis 1992; Heikkilä and Härkönen 1996; Belova 2013). Elk annual seasonal migration from summer to winter habitats is e.g., near 20-30 km and up to 50 km in Lithuania (Baleisis et al. 2003; Belova 2013) and 100 km in Norway (Andersen et al. 2010)). Simultaneously with long distances, short-distance movements (diffusion dispersal, Pielou 1979) into the suitable habitats and their parts as are characteristic to moose, e.g. in Lithuania daily movements of moose within their habitats comprise up to 5 km (Baleisis et al. 2003). In the mid 20th century the usual movement to the winter habitats had ended by mid-November, but more recently changes in the winter duration are reflected in later arrival at winter habitats (from mid-November to the mid- December) (Belova 2013, 2015) The individual territory of males (bulls) extends to 5,500 ha with female groups more restricted to is 500-1,000 ha (Baleisis et al. 2003). Such large territories are not defended with the exception of cows with calves that object to neighbours close to their territory. During the mating, female and bull keep the territory near 100-200 ha.

By feeding, elk is a ruminant “browser” (Edenius 1991; Belova 2013) (concentrate selectors – Hofmann 1989) (i.e. animals that select diets containing at least 75% tree and shrub stems, shoots and foliage, dicot foliage and fruits). Elk impact on woody forest vegetation shows an increasing trend under conditions of recent and further climate changes (Belova 2013). However, moose have been demonstrated to be keystone species, as the elimination of species, leading to a lack of consumption of some phytomass, results in unsustainability of ecosystems due to interrupted compensatory growth. It shows necessity of sustainable management of their populations territorially, quantitatively (reducing or increasing their number) and qualitatively (seeking for the optimal sex and age structure of populations).

Refs:

Andersen, R., Lund, E., Solberg, E.J., and Saether, B.-R. 2001. Ungulates and their management in Norway. In: Apollonio, M., Andersen. R. and Putman, R. European Ungulates and Their Management in the 21^st Century. Cambridge University Press, p. 14-36.

Baleisis, R., Bluzma, P. and Balciauskas, L. 2003. Ungulates of Lithuania. Vilnius, Akstis, 215 pp. (In Lithuanian with English summary).

Belova, O. 2013. The Impact of Moose (Alces alces L.) on Woody Vegetation and Potential Role of Ecological Corridors in the Transboundary Forests. Baltic Forestry 19(1): 67-80 http://www.balticforestry.mi.lt/bf/PDF_Articles/2013-19[1]/Belova%20Olgirda.pdf

Belova, O. 2015. Moose on the area of MMMPV http://www.mi.lt/lmi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=470&Itemid=496&lang=en

Bjärvall A, and Ullström S. 1986. The mammals of Britain and Europe. Croom Helm.

Edenius, L. 1991. The Effect of Resource Depletion on the Feeding Behaviour of a Browser: Winter Foraging by Moose on Scots Pine. Journal of Applied Ecology 28(1): 318-328.https://www.jstor.org/stable/2404132?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Fauna of Lithuania. Mammals. 1988. Vilnius, Mokslas, 294 pp.

Heikkilä, R. and Härkönen, S. 1996. Moose Browsing in Young Scots Pine Stands in Relation to Forest Management. Forest Ecology and Management 88(1-2): 179-186.

Hofmann, R.R. 1989. Evolutionary steps of ecophysiological adaptation and diversification of ruminants: A comparative view of their digestive system. Oecologia 78: 443-457.  https://www.uky.edu/Ag/AnimalSciences/instruction/asc684/PDF/oecologia78_443.pdf

IUCN Red List. 2016. http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/41782/1

Miller, B.K. and Litvaitis, J. 1992. Habitat segregation by moose in a boreal forest ecotone. Acta Theriologica 37 (1-2): 41-50.

Pielou, E. C. 1979. Biogeography. John Wiley and Sons, New York, New York, USA.

Rea, R. V. and Child, K. N. 2007. Features Species – Moose. In: Wildlife Data Centre. Wildlife Afield, p. 285-317.