Photo-gallery elk. Daily activity and behavior of moose How moose live in nature

Elk- the noble and mighty master of our forests, which even the Bear will not always dare to argue with.

What is Elk called

Sometimes Moose also called the moose plow because of the shape of the horns, which resemble a plow.

What does a moose look like

Elk it is not for nothing that it is considered one of the largest animals, since males often reach sizes of about 3 meters in length and 2.5 meters in height, and weigh up to 600 kg. Distinctive feature The elk are its beautiful sweeping antlers, which have an average of 18 tines.

Researchers have about 7 subspecies of the Elk, which differ in size and structure of the horns.

What do moose eat

V Elk diet includes herbaceous and tree-shrub vegetation, mosses, lichens, mushrooms and berries. Elks eat bark pine trees, willow, birch, aspen, love young raspberry branches. Depending on the time of the year, Elk's lunch is either preferably leaves or aquatic plants: water lilies, horsetails, marigold. Interestingly, the portion of the Elk per day ranges from 10 to 35 kg of feed, and this figure reaches 7 tons per year.

Where does Elk live

Elk inhabits practically throughout the entire territory of the wooded zone of the Northern Hemisphere, it can often be found in the taiga or steppe part.

Wetlands are an important part of Elk life, because in the hot season, animals feed on aquatic vegetation and escape from overheating. These animals are found in Poland, the Baltic States, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Belarus, in the north of Ukraine, in Scandinavia, the European part of Russia and in Siberian taiga... About half of the total animal population lives in Russia.

Currently, the number of Elk, like other ungulates, is decreasing due to the flourishing of poaching.

Are moose dangerous for humans

If you are in the forest see moose- freeze and stand still until the animal leaves. During the rut, Elks are quite aggressive, but they will not see a person even a short distance, since they have poorly developed vision... In general, Elks rarely attack first, for this you need to provoke the animal or come too close to the place where the offspring is. Elk is dangerous for motorists, since in a collision with an animal of this size on the road, great damage will be caused to both the car and the animal itself.

Elk breeding

Single moose live separately in small groups of up to 4 individuals, females with moose calves sometimes unite in small herds of up to 8 heads. Moose are monogamous by nature, unlike other relatives.

Elk rut takes place in early autumn and is accompanied by a loud, characteristic roar of males. At this time, it is better not to go deep into the forest, as moose are aggressive and can attack a person.

Also famous Elk fights, where rivals in the fight for the best female can not only seriously injure themselves, but even die. Elk's pregnancy lasts 225-240 days from April to June. Usually one calf is born, but old experienced females can give birth to twins. The baby has a light red color and can get up a few minutes after birth, and after 3 days he can move freely.

Elk maturity comes at 2 years old, and by 12 they are already aging, although in captivity at good care live up to 20 years.

Enemies of the Elk

First enemy of Elk, of course, a man with a weapon.

Elk are hunted wolves and bears ( Brown bear, grizzly). The prey is usually young, sick and old moose. Wolves are practically harmless to healthy adults if they do not attack in large flocks.

Moose it is difficult to maintain a perimeter defense in open spaces. The picture looks completely different when the Elk is in the thicket. Here he often takes a defensive defense: having covered the rear with some tree or thickets of bushes, the Elk defends itself from attacking blows of its front legs. These signature blows Elk are capable of open the skull of a wolf and can easily protect itself from a bear. Therefore, predators avoid meeting Elk “face to face”.

The moose is an excellent swimmer and can hold its breath underwater for more than a minute.

Of the senses, the Elk has the best developed hearing and smell. Elk's eyesight is weak- he does not see a motionless person at a distance of a few tens of meters.

In a fight with predators, the Elk uses strong front legs, so even bears sometimes prefer to bypass the Elk. These animals run well thanks to strong and long legs, and can reach speeds of up to 56 km / h.

Elk Milk, with which they feed their offspring, contains 5 times more proteins than cow, and 3-4 times fatter. Now in Russia there are two moose farms that are engaged in the production of milk used for medicinal purposes, as well as meat and skin.

Long-legged moose calves at first cannot reach the grass and graze on their knees.

Picture of heavenly Elks or Deer were common to many hunting peoples. Constellation Big Dipper in the Russian tradition it was called Elk. The peoples of the North have legends about the creation of the Milky Way in the pursuit of elk hunters, as well as how the Elk carried the sun into the heavenly taiga. Sometimes taiga hunters also figuratively imagined the sun as a living creature - a giant Elk, running across the entire sky during the day and sinking into the endless underground sea by nightfall.

Describing a moose for children will help you write essays using different options and prepare for the lesson.

Elk animal description

Real forest giants live in our forests. These are moose. In all guise forest giant you feel power and strength.

The moose has a large hunchbacked head. The upper thick lip is longer than the lower one. The body is massive, with a nape similar to a hump. Long ears sensitively pick up the slightest sound. Warm thick wool protects the animal from frost.

The legs of the moose are long, with wide hooves. They allow you to walk in deep snow, in a swamp.

Moose also run and swim fast. The river will meet - the elk will easily swim across it and can even dive under the water for a minute. On a hot day, moose like to go into the water: it is both cool and rescue from mosquitoes and midges.

The elk also has a decoration - large wide antlers. And so that they do not interfere with running through the forest thickets, the elk raises its head, as if putting its horns on its back. True, in winter, the elk sheds its decoration.

Babies are born in the spring. A moose mother gently licks her cub and feeds him with milk.

Elks are strong and courageous. Strong horns, a blow with a hoof will stop the enemy - a wolf or a bear. Everyone who walks into the forest knows that if a moose cow walks with a calf, it is better not to approach them! And the calf will hide in case of danger - it will hide. If you walk nearby, you won't notice.

These are amazing giants that live in our forests.

Elk short description

Moose inhabit various forests, thickets of willows along the banks of steppe rivers and lakes

Elk body length up to 3 m, height at the withers up to 2.3 m, tail length 12-13 cm; weight 360-600 kg. Females are smaller. In appearance, the moose is noticeably different from other deer. The body and neck are short, the withers are high, in the form of a hump. The legs are very elongated, therefore, in order to get drunk, the elk is forced to go deep into the water or kneel down on the front legs. The head is large, hump-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 are light gray, almost white.

Males have huge spatulate horns, which they shed annually in November-December and walk without them until April-May. Females are hornless.

The basis of their diet is made up of branches conifers, various shrubs, berries, mushrooms, and even algae.

Moose run fast, up to 56 km / h; swim well. When looking for aquatic plants, they can keep their head underwater for more than a minute. Of the senses, the elk have the best developed hearing and smell; weak vision - he does not see a motionless person at a distance of a few tens of meters.

Elk animal description for kids

One of the largest animals, the elk, lives in our forests. It's easy to recognize him. Large, powerful legs, hump-nosed muzzle, high withers. Adult males boast big horns looking like a shovel. But sometimes elk get bored with antlers. And he drops them in November-December and walks without them until May.

Elk body length up to 3 m, height at the withers up to 2.3 m, tail length 12-13 cm; weight 360-600 kg. Females are smaller. The elk is lipstick, its upper lip is very large. The neck is short, the ears are long, pointed. Wool - Brown color, with various shades of ash. V summertime the color of the elk's fur is darker.

What does moose eat? Branches of trees and shrubs, marigold, sedge, as well as marsh vegetation. The elk's favorite delicacy is willow-tea plants.

In winter, the moose feeds during the day and sleeps at night. In summer, on the contrary. Hiding from the heat and midges, he rests during the summer day, and looks for food for himself at night. At the end of summer, in the mornings and evenings, males make sounds similar to a dull and lingering moo.

In the last days of May - early June, a moose cow gives birth to one, less often two moose calves. Newborns weigh on average 12-14 kilograms.

Elk is the largest member of the deer family. The habitat of the animal extends throughout Europe, it lives in North America and the central zone of Russia, it is found on Far East... Animals differ in body size and horns depending on the area where they live.

Kamchatka elk

From the deer family they live on the Kamchatka Peninsula. The weight of an adult moose on average reaches 800 kilograms in males, and females weigh about 400 kilograms.

The animals manage to achieve such gigantic sizes thanks to the varied and plentiful amount of food that is available even in winter. Some scientists are of the opinion that these animals grow to gigantic proportions thanks to an umbrella plant that grows in Kamchatka and provokes the production of growth hormone in animals.

An interesting fact is that moose were brought to Kamchatka only in the 80s of the last century as an experiment. They were brought from the Anadyr basin.

A genetic link has been established between animals living in Kamchatka and Alaska, but our elks are still leading in size. Average weight moose from North America does not exceed 600 kilograms.

Elks living in Kamchatka still live on the territory of the Middle and Upper Kolyma, on Anadyr and on Indigirka, therefore they are also called the Chukchi or Kolyma species.

European view

They are medium-sized animals. Average weight of moose in middle lane does not exceed 500 kilograms (males).

The animal lives in the Urals and Western Siberia, in Altai. Also on the territory of the republics the former USSR: in Ukraine, in Belarus, in the Baltics. In Europe, it is found in the Czech Republic, Poland and Scandinavia.

At the same time, artiodactyls living in the territory of Western Siberia are much larger than their congeners living in the European part.

For example, the body length of a European species of elk does not exceed 250 centimeters, and individuals living in Siberia reach 270 centimeters or more at maximum height at the withers 185 centimeters.

Accordingly, the average weight of an elk in Russia reaches 480-500 kilograms, and animals living in Europe barely reach 400 kilograms.

Caucasian view

It is believed that this species was completely exterminated at the turn of two centuries - XIX-XX. However, the population in the Caucasus began to increase due to the migration of artiodactyls from other regions. Since 1976, moose have been found in the south of the Stavropol Territory, in Krasnodar Territory and in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic. These are medium-sized individuals, very similar to the European species. The average weight of a moose is no more than 500 kilograms.

Ussuri view

This small animal is perhaps the smallest among all the elk species. The legs of artiodactyls are much shorter than those of other species, the body is thin, with a light color. The muzzle is large. The weight of an adult moose does not exceed 200 kilograms. The height at the withers in males is from 170 to 195 centimeters.

In this species, the horns do not form a shovel and are more like the outer diameter of the horns can reach 100 centimeters and weigh up to 8 kilograms.

Ussuri moose living in Primorye can be somewhat larger, weighing about 400 kilograms. The average weight of a moose living in Manchuria does not exceed 300 kilograms. The most typical representatives of the species include animals living in the Sikhote-Alin.

How long do moose live?

These artiodactyls have enough short life, they begin to age by 12 years. According to scientists, in the world only 3% of the elk population is over 10 years old. The average life span is 12-15 years.

In captivity, artiodactyls live longer, there were even cases when individuals were up to 22 years old.

Diet

In the forest-tundra, animals prefer aspen and birch forests, in the steppes they can move away from forests. For a quality life, moose need swamps and lakes, where they can escape the heat and nibble on aquatic vegetation.

In winter, for artiodactyls, conifers and mixed plantings are needed, where there is dense undergrowth.

The animals do not have a specific time for food, if it is hot, then they transfer lunch to the night, and in severe frosts they hide in the snow.

Artiodactyls prefer arboreal and shrub vegetation, use herbs. They are very fond of aquatic and near-water herbs, horsetails, marigold, water lilies, watch. Sorrel and fireweed are used in felling areas.

At the end of the summer season, do not mind pampering yourself with mushrooms, including even fly agarics. Lingonberry and blueberry branches and fruits are eaten. In winter, sprigs of pine and willow, rowan, birch and fir are used. In the spring, when it is very difficult to feed, they eat the bark of trees.

Large males can eat about 35 kilograms of vegetation per day, and in winter - up to 15 kilograms of branches.

Almost all representatives of the species visit salt licks. If they are not around, then they can go out onto the track and lick salt from the road.

Reproduction

Elks rarely create harems for themselves, as a rule. However, if there is enough food, then one elk may have several females.

When the male's excitement reaches its maximum, he can destroy everything in his path. As soon as the elk notices a female, he pursues her, driving off young males along the way. If there are more males than females nearby, then males can engage in terrible battles.

The female can bear offspring in the 2nd or 3rd year of age. Pregnancy does not exceed 240 days. Children appear in early June. If there are two babies in the litter, then, most likely, one of them will die. Confidence in legs appears a week after birth. At birth, depending on the species, the baby weighs from 6 to 16 kilograms. Mother's milk is fed for about 4 months.

Main pride

The most important trophy for any hunter is the elk antlers, which confirm the courage and dexterity of the person who killed the animal.

In the Kamchatka species, with an average weight of an elk of 800 kilograms, the weight of the horns can reach 40 kilograms in the largest males. The average weight varies from 29 to 33 kilograms.

The shape of the horns resembles a plow with multiple processes (about 18). The growth rate is very high - about 30 centimeters per day. It is because of the shape of the horns that moose are also called elk.

The European elk has slightly smaller antlers, and their weight does not exceed 20 kilograms, and in scope they can be up to 135 centimeters.

The largest horns

Until 2015, Bering Kenneth's trophy, which was hunted in Kamchatka in 1993, was considered the largest elk antlers.

Horn parameters:

• 171.5 centimeters wide;
• 127.6 centimeters - the length of one horn;
• on the left side - 13 processes;
• on the right side - 18 processes;
• the width of the left horn (in the rise) - 43.8 centimeters;
• width of the right horn (in rise) - 44.9 centimeters.

However, in 2015, Aishparas Arunas, a Lithuanian hunter, came across a larger elk, whose horns weighed 50 kilograms and were 178 centimeters in diameter.

Moose are good swimmers and runners. When running, the speed can reach 56 kilometers per hour.

The bear does not even dare to attack these mammals.

Moose have very poor eyesight, they cannot distinguish objects at a distance of 10 meters. However, they have excellent hearing and smell. A person can only be attacked if he behaves aggressively.

Elk.

Belongs to the family of deer ruminants. They are very large, somewhat awkward animals, with a short and thick neck, a wide and short body, high legs and branched horns, the ends of which are widened in the form of shoulder blades and carved like fingers. They have small lacrimal fossae, hair tufts on the inside of the feet, and interdigital glands; there are no fangs at all. In addition to forest corners, which are under strict supervision, elk are found in more northern latitudes, in all forest-rich countries of Europe and Asia. In Asia, the elk is still much more common than in Europe. There he lives from 50 degrees north latitude to the Amur River and is found wherever there are dense forests.

The elk is a huge animal. The length of the body is 2.6-2.9 m, the length of the tail is about 10 cm, the height at the shoulders is 1.9 m. The weight of very old elk sometimes reaches 500 kg; the average weight should be considered 350-400 kg. The body is relatively short and thick, the chest is wide; there is something like a hump on the nape, the back is straight, and the sacrum is lowered. Legs are very high, strong, everything equal length and end in narrow, straight, deeply dissected hooves, interconnected by an extensible membrane. The hind hooves touch the ground easily if the soil is soft. On a short, strong neck sits a large, elongated head, which is narrowed at the eyes and ends in a long, thick, swollen, seemingly chopped off and blunt muzzle in front. This muzzle is severely disfigured by a cartilaginous nose and a thick, strongly elongated upper lip, which is very mobile, wrinkled and covered with hair. Small dull eyes set deep in the eye sockets, the lacrimal fossa are insignificant. Large, long, wide, but pointed ears are located on the back of the head, but so mobile that they can be bent towards each other. The antlers of an adult moose are very large. Wide and flat, they have a triangular spade shape. These horns are directed to the sides and are supported by short, thick, rounded pipes. In the first autumn, a hairy tubercle is seen in the place of the horns in a young male; the next spring a pipe grows; in the second spring - a second shoot about 30 cm long, which disappears only in next winter... The horns then branch out more and more.

In the fifth year, a flat scapula is formed, which expands and divides along the edges into an increasing number of teeth, sometimes reaching 20. The main branches also grow together with the scapula. These horns weigh up to 20 kg.

The hair of the moose is long, dense and straight. It consists of wavy, thin and brittle awn hair, between which there is a short, thin undercoat; along the apex of the occiput there is a large, very dense, divided in the middle, mane, which partly continues on the neck and chest and is up to 20 cm long. The color of the coat is uniformly reddish-brown; on the mane and on the sides of the head, it turns into a shiny dark black-brown. From October to March, the color of the coat is lighter. The female is no less than the male, but has no horns, her hooves are longer, the hind hooves are shorter and less protruding. In Russia, the male elk is called "elk".

Wild desert forests, teeming with impenetrable swamps and marshes, especially those dominated by willows, birch, aspen and in general deciduous trees, serve as a habitat for elk. In calm, clear weather, elk prefers deciduous forests; in rain, snow and fog - conifers. In Russia and on the Scandinavian Peninsula, it roams over long distances. The elk never makes a bed for itself, but is located right on the ground, not paying attention, he chose a swamp or swamp, dry land or snow-covered soil for his rest.

Elks unite in herds of various sizes, and only during the birth of calves do old males separate and form new societies. In a safe place for themselves, the moose sleeps only in the morning and afternoon, and from 4 pm until early morning it grazes. According to Wangenheim, his food consists of leaves and shoots of marsh willow, birch, ash, aspen, mountain ash, maple, linden, oak, pine and spruce, as well as young reeds and reeds. In the swamps, he eats heather, cotton grass, horsetails. In May and June, horsetails and dandelions are its main food.

V Eastern Siberia elk mainly feeds on the shoots of dwarf and bush birch. Elks are very dexterous in breaking off branches with the help of their long trunk-like lips. When ripping off the bark from trees, they use their teeth as a chisel, tear off a piece, grab it with their lips and teeth, and tear it up in a long strip. The moose constantly needs water and must drink a lot to quench its thirst.

Movement of a moose is far from being as graceful and light as that of a red deer; it cannot run for a long time, but walks quickly and for a long time. Some observers claim that a moose can walk 30 miles a day.

The elk hears perfectly, but his eyesight and flair are not very fine. He is not timid at all and cannot be called cautious. Each individual animal acts at its own discretion, and only the calves follow the mother.

Old moose shed their antlers in November or not earlier than October, young moose a month later. At first, the growth of new horns is extremely slow and only from May begins to move faster. In European and Asian Russia, estrus occurs in September or October. At this time, males are very irritable. Generally speaking, moose rarely give voice, only in exceptional cases old males scream like deer, and the sound they emit is much stronger, lower and louder; but during sexual arousal their voice sounds almost like that of red deer, only more abrupt and more plaintive. With this cry, they challenge their rivals to single combat, with whom they then enter into a fierce struggle. Older males drive off young males, who rarely find an opportunity to satisfy their natural urge. Pregnancy of the female lasts up to 36-38 weeks, at the end of April she lays for the first time one cub, and the next time - two and mostly of different sex. Calves jump to their feet as soon as the mother licks them, but at first they stagger from side to side like drunken ones, and the mother must push them to move them. But already on the third or fourth day they run after their mother; they suck her almost until the next heat, even when they get so big that they have to lie down under her to suck.

Despite the strength, the moose, in addition to humans, still has many enemies, for example, the wolf, lynx, bear and wolverine. The wolf can overpower it in winter, when the snow covers the ground in a thick layer; the bear watches over individual animals, but is wary of attacking the group, while the lynx and the wolverine hide behind trees and jump on the back of an elk passing by them, claw at the animal's neck with its claws and bite into its carotid arteries. These animals are the most dangerous enemies of the strong elk; while wolves and bears themselves must beware of it, because the elk, even when it does not have large horns, is able to defend itself with strong and sharp hooves of its front legs. One cleverly directed blow is enough to kill or maim a wolf.

Elk are hunted either from an ambush, or with beaters, or by means of strong nets. The benefit that a person derives from a killed animal is significant. Its meat, skin and antlers are used in the same way as reindeer. The meat is tougher, but the fur is denser and better than that of a deer. In the Middle Ages, elk skin (leggings) was highly valued and expensive.

Elk hunting.

Summer elk hunting is not of great importance because of the low value of the skin and the poor quality of the meat, which, moreover, soon deteriorates. In the summertime, the skin of a moose, in fact, is covered with big amount holes or pockmarks (depending on the time), made by the hatched gadfly larvae, and is much cheaper than the autumn and winter ones. In summer, moose are often beaten by accident, having found a moose with calves, sometimes, however, they guard the moose before estrus, when they go out into the swamps or at the voice of the males, which at this time begin to roar, that is, call the female.

V intense heat when moose sit in the water, sticking out only their nostrils, they are concealed, going down the river in a boat studded with thawed branches. During intense heatwaves, when the gadfly and the very heat force the moose to seek refuge in the water, and when they stand in the river, sticking out only their head and nostrils, then they get them in the following way: a small boat is wrapped around a circle with tallow or other branches and quietly descend along the river to that a place where elders are expected to find, who usually go to swim in the same barrel, are especially fond of deep bays, the so-called kuryas, where there are always many aquatic plants.

In late August or early September until November, industrialists catch them in a large number pits. Instead of pits, large bear traps are used, pood and one and a half, placed during the course on the trails. In the greater use of elk fishing with ocheps.

More often, although also very rarely, moose run on the ice, because, having run several fathoms on it, they fall and rise with great difficulty; but the fact is that it is not very easy to drive them out to the lake and such a hunt is possible only with a large number of hunters. Sometimes moose are beaten in the midst of the chase, when the female, especially the male, is far from being so careful and sensitive as at any other time; at the same time, they usually try to kill the female first, because very often the male in his fervor does not hear the shot, and if he runs away, he soon returns and, in turn, falls under the bullet; it is only necessary to aim as accurately as possible, because during the chase, the male is very dangerous and almost always rushes at the hunter who wounded him.

Elk are also beaten in the evenings from huts set up in so-called barriers (stagnant water in a swamp with rust), where moose go from spring to July. Let us note, by the way, that from about Ilyin's day until the beginning of heat, the moose stay for the most part in places where there is always a lot of fireweed and raspberries.

Elk are also hunted with the help of dogs, which catch up with the beast and, running ahead, stop and distract its attention; the hunter, meanwhile, slowly approaches him to shoot. For this hunt, very good, agile and dexterous dogs are needed, which could catch up and were able to detain, without slipping very close to the beast, which in every possible way frightens them with horns and strives to strike with its front legs; hunters say that good dogs, sometimes alone, hold the elk in this way and do not allow them to budge, do not give a move, not only for several hours, but even for a whole day or more.

Shooting moose from an ambush with the help of several beaters is the most common hunting in central Russia. As you know, the elk always walks by logs, and therefore if some hunters sit down in the narrowest part of the log, while others begin to slowly drive the animal in the proper direction, then it easily approaches the distance of a rifle shot; for this, you just need to know for sure where exactly the elk is kept, which needs to be taken care of in advance.

Much more often they shoot in this way, that is, from an ambush, at the end of winter. For this purpose, fat is noticed in advance - the place where moose go to feed in early mornings and in the evening; one hunter or several are hiding in a short distance from the path leading to the fat, and the rest frighten off the herd, which, fearing an ice crust, will certainly go the beaten path and will certainly pass by the hunters who have sheltered. During this hunt, the nearest shooter must wait until the whole herd has passed by him, and shoot at the rear; otherwise, they can turn back and avoid the shots of the next hunters. Sometimes moose are also trapped on the fats.

Finally, the moose are hidden in the autumn on the first soft snow, of course, also against the wind and without dogs, which will only interfere here and delay the outcome of the hunt. With some skill, sneaking up on a moose is not as difficult as it seems, judging by its caution and sensitivity, but still it is much more tricky than stealing a short-sighted roe deer. For the most part, windy weather is chosen for this hunt; having found a fresh trail that is easy to recognize, they carefully follow this trail, often stopping and looking around, especially if you have to go through the thicket; however, in the case when the moose stopped in a dense aspen or spruce forest, the success of the hunt is highly doubtful, since it is difficult to pass without noise. If this succeeds, then it is very tricky to look out for them and aim correctly.

Elk rarely speaks; Usually only the male bellows, and then during estrus, or rather, before estrus. This voice or roar is similar to a short and abrupt moo and is heard at the beginning of autumn at a very distant distance. The elk screams only when it calls for a calf or is frightened of something, and its voice is much weaker. A mortally wounded moose always groans.

Elk Hunting Surge

Catching by race is carried out on the first winter route or in March on the crust, when the elk, punching through the icy bark, gets stuck in the snow, strips off its legs and soon gets tired. In the latter case, you can hunt without dogs, with one gun, on skis, but in the first, you must have a good dog, even better two or more; quite often such a hunt is carried out by a whole artel, and, of course, it is then much safer, shorter and much more prey: sometimes it is possible in this way to shoot a whole herd of 5-10 or more heads, depending on the number of hunters, of which each one chooses one animal , since quite often at the first shot the herd is divided into several small parts and the moose scatter in different directions.

The success of the hunt depends a lot on the depth of the snow, and most of all on the art of the dogs: if the snow is shallow, the race sometimes lasts for two or three days in a row or more; from the dogs, however, lightness and perseverance are required, and at the same time composure, otherwise they will not quickly catch up and not soon stop the beast; a burrowing dog will just fall under his feet or on his horns; too hot, at the same time dodging dog also brings great harm the fact that the elk, firmly pressed by it, does not stay in one place for a long time and, having rested a little, runs again for a mile or more. A good dog should, stopping a moose, bark at it at a decent distance - ten to fifteen fathoms, run around it, continuing to bark, but by no means making an attack. The elk usually frightens her with its horns, hits the ground with its hoof, shakes its head and, turning after the dog, watches it and continues to threaten with its horns; thus, his attention is diverted from the hunter, who slowly sneaks up on the beast on skis and fires a rifle.

If the elk is injured and runs further, the dogs again catch up with it and again stop it, and this race continues until the elk is completely exhausted from pursuit and injury or does not allow the hunter to shoot again. However, in most cases, a wounded moose does not allow the hunter to come close until the last exhaustion of strength: then the animal stops, and it is often stabbed simply with a knife tied to the end of the bunk handle - something like an oar that serves the hunter instead of balance and accelerates his skiing; This bed, however, is used exclusively by Solikamsk hunters, who skillfully throw it at the beast like a spear or an arrow, rarely giving a miss and often killing an elk outright. The beast, however, takes some precautions in advance and, before deciding to use the beds, wraps up his skis so that in case of failure he can escape the terrible hooves of the elk, which immediately rushes at the hunter to trample or grab on the horns. During a long race, a knife tied to a bed, and for theological hunters - a spear, often one knife, decides the success of the hunt, since industrialists, chasing a moose for a day or more, throw their rifles and even take off their warm outerwear. In deep snow, this hunt is very prey, and, as already mentioned, it happens that two hunters hunt up to two dozen moose in one week. Sometimes, although very rarely, moose are chased on horseback with dogs or even without dogs, but this requires a very strong and indefatigable horse, and therefore a race without dogs is not so reliable; in addition, the elk often deliberately walks in such thickets, where it will take a while to get through on foot and rip up the whole dress; therefore he is driven to the summit only in the open woodlands.

Finally, occasionally it happens to drive the elk onto the icy surface of the lake, on which it slips and falls, and where it is not difficult to end it with one knife; the whole task is. to drive him out to the lake, why this hunt requires several hunters and a dog, and in general it requires a lot of art and a lot of dexterity.

If moose are running over the ice without dogs, then it is best not to chase the wounded animal and look for it after a few hours or the next day: then it rarely goes far. A wounded and very tired elk strays from the trot and begins to gallop; this serves as a sure sign that he will soon stop and finally be exhausted. It should also be noted that the younger the moose, the easier it is to drive it, and also that the females get tired much sooner than the male, they stop sooner and that both young moose and moose cows are much safer than an adult bull and rarely rush at the hunter.

Elk tracking.

Hunting is carried out almost exclusively on crust, and therefore usually at the end of February. Having found a fresh trail, one, but usually two and occasionally three hunters go hunting. Following the trail, the hunters keep side by side if the crust is strong, or they walk one after the other, in single file, if the crust cannot withstand (since it is easier to walk on a skier than as a whole, the front line is replaced from time to time). The leading hunter vigilantly monitors all the features of the track, and when the latter, by its peculiarities, makes it possible to assume that the moose are close and, moreover, at a stop, lying down or feeding, then the hunters immediately stop. Before lying down, the trail begins to double, triple, if there are several moose: the moose no longer go toe-to-toe, trail to trail, but diverge, bypass bushes, in some places pinch the top of a bush, swallow the bark of a young aspen, etc.

If the trail of several moose goes toe-to-toe, then this clear sign that they are in a hurry to a certain, still distant goal and will not stop soon for feeding or lying down; at the same time, their trail goes in a known, direct, direction, without any detours and zigzags. Sometimes you have to follow such a trail 10, 15, 20 or more kilometers, if the moose are chasing or shot, until you get to lying down or feeding. If the elk walked alone (an old male, single or strayed from the uterus and wounded young), then, of course, before feeding, etc. the track cannot double, but it no longer goes in a straight direction, but in zigzags, the animal walks shorter, slowly, etc.

Snow is always heavily trampled near the most subject or lying areas; traces go in different directions and intersect; willow or aspen grove in some places; there are piles of fresh feces, etc. By the feces you can find out whether it was a male or a female: the first feces are larger, significantly oblong, drier and do not lie in a heap, but are more scattered; the female is rounder, not so dry, and the mucous membrane always lies in a heap. It is also quite easy to distinguish the male from the female by the track, especially at this time of year: the female track is smaller than that of the male, and rounder (her front hooves are more rounded and not as sharp as those of the male). But on these grounds alone, one can still be mistaken and take the track of a young, two-three-year-old male for the track of an old female, and vice versa. But at this time of the year (in February and later), the female's step is shorter, the leg no longer steps so accurately the track in the track, and it is the hind leg that does not reach a little and becomes somewhat wider than the front one, which is why this so-called inaccessibility occurs: the female goes wider with hind legs, for she is pregnant (this is not noticed in the barnyard).

Hunters, noticing the proximity of elk by signs, stop for a minute. Now they need to go around the animals, that is, to describe the circle to make sure whether the animals are here or have passed further. If there are two hunters, then they diverge from the track and one describes an arc to the right, the other to the left; having described this arc, they converge on the opposite side of the circle. If there are three of them, then the third remains on the path and waits for the result. The size of the circle is different and depends on the weather, etc. If the hunters, having described the circle, do not find a way out of it, then the moose are here; if the trail leaves the circle and goes further, then the hunters follow them further until they overtake and go around the elk. When the hunters managed to overlay the moose, but the circumvented circle is large (a mile or more in diameter), and the terrain and weather allow it to be cut, then this circle is reduced as much as possible. At the same time, the hunters act very carefully: keeping their guns at the ready, they slowly move forward and vigilantly look out for the terrain. In calm, calm, clear and frosty weather, it is more difficult to approach an elk than in a windy one. A herd should be approached more carefully than a single animal.

If the weather is calm, clear, and the snow rustles a little under the skis and there are three hunters, then one of the hunters, moving along the path a little inside the circle, chooses a cleaner place, directly on the path or near it, and hides behind a snag or just behind a tree trunk. The other two, meanwhile, enter opposite side circle and very quietly and carefully, moreover in mind of each other, begin to move to the center of the circle or to the place where the moose are expecting. They walk very carefully, trying not to make any noise, not even a rustle; they often stop, look around, peer into every bush in front and on the sides, while they move forward, etc. Finally, they stumble upon moose and shoot. If they went directly opposite the path and, moreover, came across a moose standing and, therefore, not so close, then the moose usually go along the old path, that is, backward, and stumble upon a third hunter who was lying in ambush; if they caught the moose lying, came close and caught them by surprise (which under these conditions, that is, in calm weather, happens very rarely), then the moose rush in different directions, anywhere. If, under the same circumstances, a light wind blows in the direction away from the moose (the path is under the wind), then they are already entering the other side of the circle, that is, into the wind, only this third hunter sits down in ambush; the other two are walking against the wind along a path, or rather, having a path between themselves, walking on the side, 30-50 paces from the last, depending on the nature of the terrain. They walk along the path until they find animals; in this case, the elk usually goes against the wind. In both of these cases, the third hunter, that is, the one who remains in ambush, plays, in fact, a secondary role, and the first two have much more chances to kill the beast.

With more favorable conditions That is, when the snow is soft, like fluff, but not wet, over the crust, when the weather is windy and the forest is noisy, this approach changes a little. If the moose went to feed against the wind, that is, the path is relative to the moose in the wind, then all hunters, no matter how many of them, come to the moose along this path. If there are two hunters, then they walk along the sides of the path, at a distance of 80-120 steps from each other, with a path in the middle; if there are three, then the best shooter follows the path itself, while his comrades are on the sides, at the same approximately the same distance from him.

Moose wrapping.

More or less the difficulty of avoiding moose depends on the terrain and the weather. The more extensive the forests and the more places for fattening in them, the frosty and clearer the weather, the more they wander and the less likely they are to find them the next day in the same place. On the contrary, on stormy blizzard and snowy days, moose stand still where the weather has caught them, so that they can be beaten from the approach. They wander reluctantly during morning fogs, during a thaw, and especially when an ice crust forms or snow is very deep.

Favorite places for moose stopping are lowlands, near water. Even in winter, the elk chooses a place near springs that would not freeze all winter. He is extremely fond of standing in open woodlands and hearing, for which he chooses a place on a small area with trees, mainly conifers, to protect him from the cold and at the same time to see and hear everything around him. Most often he fattens in an aspen or aspen forest mixed with alder.

If the snow is shallow, then it is more convenient to go around the moose in a sleigh specially adapted for that - in one horse, very narrow, on high spears and without bends, or to go around on horseback. In deep snow, of course, a detour is possible only on skis. Together, the business is more likely and not so tiring, but you should beware and not talk loudly. Having found fresh tracks of moose, the handler determines how many animals have passed. In deep snow, moose walk trail after trail - females in front, young ones behind them.

For the most part, moose walk in families, three or four together, usually a female or two and two young - a two-year-old and a one-year-old. In winter, old males always live separately and are distinguished by great caution. When, judging by the terrain, it can be assumed that the moose have stopped, the handler makes a circle; if a trace has left it, then another is made, and so on, until the elk is bypassed. The circle should be done, considering the terrain, and, as much as possible, bypassing places where the elk can stop. If there are no exit traces from the circle, then the salary is reduced as much as possible in order to more accurately determine the parking place. It should always be borne in mind that the elk stands (in winter) from ten o'clock in the morning until about four in the afternoon, and then leaves for fat, which lasts all night. Therefore, you should not go around before hunting early in the morning, since you can stumble upon an animal and drive it further, ten versts (about 10 km) or more. In general, if the trail shows that the moose left the circle at a pace and in a straight direction, often stopping, then this serves as an indication that they have heard something that seemed suspicious to them and will go far. Unafraid, the elk often turns to the side to feed and nibble on young trees that come across it.

A diligent and experienced handler must by all means go around the moose on the eve of the hunt and, if they wander around a lot, notice their weekends and entrance tracks in the salary, by all means having counted how much came out and how much went into; for example, if two tracks came out of the circle and one again entered, it means that there are no moose in the salary; if two tracks came out, and two again entered the salary, this means that the elk came out twice and after the fourth track is in the round. Evening footprints need to be re-marked, crossed out with a stick, so that in the morning, if there was no snow, you do not get lost and do not take the evening footprint for a fresh morning one.

Hunting for moose.

The manager or manager of the hunt, having arrived at the place where the moose have been bypassed, must by all means check in the morning if they have left; if everything is in order, he will have to decide where to drive the moose. You should be guided when choosing a direction by the wind and always drive elk in the wind, so that they cannot smell a person; in general, one should try to drive the moose in the direction where, one can assume, they would have gone on their own, for example, to drive in the direction where they came from, or in the direction where the forests stretch. If it happens that the wind is blowing in the direction where it is impossible to drive the moose, then you should drive them across the wind, but in no case against the wind. The second condition for elk hunting is that upon arrival at a place where it is supposed to be parked nearby, leave the shouting as far as possible and prohibit all noise and conversations until the arrows take their places on the line. Hunters, in turn, must observe dead silence - speak in signs.

The depositor or manager goes forward. The rooms are pre-assigned in the snow, so there is nothing to talk about. It is very dangerous to place close shooters, especially hot and inexperienced ones: it is best if the number from the number is at a distance of about 100 steps and not less than 50. The hunter gets behind a bush or some kind of cover; it is good if he is wearing a light gray dress; in a completely clean place, he must definitely wear a white hoodie and a hat on top of warm clothes. Smoking and leaving the place is strictly prohibited.

When the hunters take their places, the handlers quietly start shouting. If the terrain permits, the round-up is divided into two equal halves: one enters from one, the other from the other end of the frame, and both converge in the middle. The beater from the beater becomes no more often, as at a distance of 10, and no further, as at 50 steps, depending on the terrain and their number. In deep snow, it is better to limit yourself to a small number of screams who know how to ski. As a rule, especially sharp-witted and knowledgeable are placed on the right and left wings. Their duty is to observe the silence until the signal is given, and to ensure that the beaters do not come together, that is, do not leave their seats and do not run to the shots out of curiosity. The flanks of the round-up are slightly bent in a semicircle to both sides of the line of arrows; in a word, the bypassed beast is surrounded on all sides by snares, as it were. The last two or three beaters should not scream at all, otherwise they can interfere with the first and last numbers shooters. They are allowed to make noise only when the elk goes to them in order to pierce the wing.

Having placed the screams, the salaries enter the salary and follow the tracks to the moose camp. Sometimes the moose are allowed close, and sometimes they get under way, far from allowing the salaries. Making sure that the moose have started, the handlers make blank shots, observing that they were fired from behind the animal and that it rushed to the line of hunters with fright. On signal shots, the round-up suddenly starts screaming, banging with beaters, rattling rattles, firing blank charges, by no means leaving the spot until the end of the hunt. The moose, puzzled by the din and shots that are happening behind, go to the line of shooters all together, how many of them were in the salary, one after another, stepping on the trail, the old ones - in front. An unshot moose, from the scream of a round-up, runs at an even trot, puts its ears on, raises its head and bends its neck forward with an Adam's apple.

Shooting moose requires, in addition to the ability to shoot a bullet, long exposure and composure. They usually shoot only when the animal or animals appear against or almost against the number (in order to avoid accidents) and rarely more than 50 steps. Elks first all immediately run out to one number, and, firing properly, you can knock a couple out of the double-barreled fitting. In addition, in well-maintained hunting circles and societies, a more or less significant fine is paid for a killed moose cow, and you can only distinguish a female from a young, still hornless male by close range... It is also very important not only to kill the beast, but also to prevent it from breaking through the chain of shooters. From a shot at any of the animals, the rest are immediately broken apart, sometimes they run along the line of the hunters or return to the salary and run out to the beaters, trying to break through. Needless to say, the hunter should not leave his place until the signal for the end of the hunt is given.

You should not approach a killed moose shortly after the shot, as in its death throes the animal can kick a person on the spot.

Many people think that moose is very tough on a wound, but this opinion is not entirely true; it happened because a wounded moose usually begins to be immediately pursued. You can kill him on the spot only by hitting the chest, under the shoulder blade or in the neck near the withers, but an elk wounded in the stomach or back, if not disturbed, often leaves a mile or two (about 1-2 km), lies down and bleeds , so that the next day it will not be difficult to find him on the trail or with the dogs. If he is pursued at the end of the hunt, then in the heat of the moment he can go 5-10 versts (5-10 km). With a broken hind or front leg, the moose goes much further, and then without a dog it is impossible to hope to stop and shoot it. It should also be borne in mind that a wounded moose often rushes at the hunter and can trample him. An experienced hunter will always be able to determine if the animal is wounded and where exactly. If a bullet strikes an elk in the leg, front or back, then there is a lot of red blood; if the bullet hits the chest and touches the insides - blood goes from the wound in a small amount, caked and dark in color. Intestinal blood is almost black, along with feces, and also in small quantities. If blood splashes on both sides of the track, it means that the wound is heavy and the bullet went right through the beast; but, if it drips to one side, it means that it has stopped in the beast. More serious wounds are those when a bullet, striking the animal in one side, does not come out a little on the other and stops under the skin. These wounds are much heavier than through wounds, because in the latter the blood flows out freely, does not bake inside the beast and, therefore, makes it easier for him.

The surest sign of a severe wound is when the beast bleeds from the throat (blood on the entire track, in pieces, almost black), which depends on the damage to the main internal organs.

It is not difficult to recognize the place where the bullet hit by the lying down of the wounded animal, because the blood that came out of the wounds will mean the place where it hit - you just have to recognize how the animal was lying, and this is not difficult even for the inexperienced, but intelligent hunter. But to find out where the bullet hit by the color of the blood is a different matter, it takes a lot of practice and long-term experience. If the bullet passes high along the shoulder blades, there is very little blood, and sometimes it does not happen at all, and the animal can go very far from such a wound. Then they already look at the trail: does the animal throw some leg to the side? does he not draw with it in the snow? Does it run smoothly and does it not go astray? does it expand the hooves? - and other signs that will show an experienced hunter how the animal is wounded. In addition, you need to look at the place where the animal stood during the shot, whether there is any wool on the ground, because the bullet, striking the animal, cuts off the wool, which falls to the ground. Almost all of these signs can be applied to any other beast.

Elk pits.

The main pit fishing takes place in September, October and then in April and May - during the famous migrations of elk. Pits are always arranged in ravines, on passes and river valleys, also near well-known crossings and fords, and are arranged in several rows; the number of holes is always indefinite, and many hunters have several hundred of them. All of them are interconnected by a high fence, poles of three or four, so that the elk must go through the opening of the fence where the pit is located: the elk, meeting this fence from the front and from the sides, finally decides to step into one of these openings and falls through. Without a fence, a moose will never go into a pit, but even with a fence, it sometimes manages to jump over it or go around the whole chain; this is where the side rows of pits turn out to be useful, which make him go back and decide to go through one of the holes in the hedge.

Pits for moose are made somewhat differently than for goats, they are somewhat larger - a little more than two meters in length and depth, and four meters in width; so that the pit does not sprinkle, except for the frame at the top, made of thin logs, its walls are laid out with a standing pile of smooth poles; the earth from the pit is scattered and covered with brushwood, the chips are taken away or burned, the hole of the pit is covered along with three or four thin poles, on which they are laid across the rods, then moss is placed and, finally, earth; all this is done as carefully as possible, without the slightest through holes, because the elk is much more careful than the roe deer. An animal, falling into a pit, often, especially an old one, sits in it quietly and begins to flounder only at the sight of an approaching hunter; it often happens that a moose that comes across is eaten by wolves, a bear, or that it dies and in warm weather even rots. Hunters inspect the pits every two weeks, even more often, and, finding a live animal, go around it from behind and stab it with a knife or spear under the front shoulder blade; in front of the elk, you should never come close, because he can easily grab a person by the dress with his upper, very muscular lip, pull him into the pit and trample with his feet: often a moose gets a person standing two steps from the front edge of the pit. Having slaughtered the beast, the industrialist pulls it out of the hole on a thick rope with the help of a gate, purposely arranged for that, and two or three of them easily lifts it by means of long and thick levers; then they remove the skin from the elk, trying, if possible, to skin it away from the pit, chop the meat into pieces and take the prey away more often on horseback, rarely drag it on sledges, and then when the snow is already very deep.

Ochep.

For this purpose, just as when making holes, they block the fence in a straight line for 5-15 kilometers or more, and in places convenient for elk to pass, or on the paths, leave a gate in which a heavy ochep is established on a wooden marnary - a pole cleared of twigs, 14-18 cm thick at the root and 4 m to 6.5 m long; a wide 22–35 cm knife is attached to the thin end of the ochep; the other end of the eyeglass should be much thicker and, for greater impact force, significantly outweigh the thin half. He is very alert in the following way: he bends down, and the thin end is adhered to by a gatehouse, from which a thin string is stretched, the force for which the elk touches, the eyeball jumps off, and the knife strikes from its full swing into the belly or side of the animal, which rarely goes far. Up to fifty or more such gates are made, and all these traps and hedges are set up by a whole artel of industrialists, which hires a special watchman. Sometimes deer, wolves and bears are caught in this way, but wolves and bears, despite careful supervision, often also eat the elk that they come across. The latter goes into such passages much more boldly than into gates with holes, and these traps are generally safer; moose get into them at any time of the year, but more often at the beginning of winter; however, there are a lot of them in the summer, but in this case the meat often rots and goes to waste; in the summertime, these passages are made on the trails with which the moose go to the watering hole.

Moose hunting on lakes, salt licks and hodgepodge.

With the appearance of a gadfly, therefore, from the middle of June, hunting for elk begins again on lakes, salt licks and hodgepodge. This latter is nothing more than an artificial salt lick, which the local industrialists prepare in advance in places where there are elk. It is the industrialists who, since the fall, notice those places where the elk keep more, and, having chosen the cleaner ones, as they say here, "passive" ones - on the pads, under the manes, near the springs, springs, creeks and other places more familiar to the elk. , - they fill the earth as much as possible in a certain space, depending on the convenience of the place for shelling, from a point specially chosen for that. Salting is usually done in this way: salt is diluted in water, which is heated in a cauldron or in a birch bark plague with the help of hot stones, and the ground is poured with hot brine, so that it becomes salty by a quarter (about 20 cm) or more. If the earth is simply sprinkled with salt, then it can be blown away by the wind, and after the rains it is able to salt only one surface. chosen place... Near such an artificial hodgepodge, they choose the most convenient place for shelling the salt lick and make a hidden seat on it of such size that a person with a gun can freely fit in it. To do this, they stick around a small hidden place with branches, twigs, even small trees, and on the front side, along with the fence, two bipods are stuck and a crossbar, some uncleaned perch or a small felled tree is put on their fork. This is done so that a seated hunter in a sitting position can shoot more conveniently by placing the gun on this crossbar. But such sitting in remote places is not safe from visiting bears, who sometimes also come to lick the salt licks of the solonetzic soil. Therefore, it is better to do not sit near the hodgepodge, but the so-called storage sheds, one and a half or two (3-4 m) high from the ground, to attach them near large trees on strong stands and the very branches of the trees. These stores are made very of various shapes and sizes, depending on whether they are intended for one or two hunters, and are either closed from the sides, like seats, or simply open, having only one wooden platform. The latter are made mainly only when they are placed between the large branches of huge shaggy trees. In addition to safety, the storage sheds in front of the sidbs arranged on the ground also have the advantage that the animals that come to the hodgepodge do not hear the smell of a person sitting on the sheds. With an even draft of wind or air, the smell of a person sitting on a storage shed pulls in an even stream high from the ground, therefore, through an animal that has come, which does not even hear it; while from the seat the smell of the hunter is carried by the wind along the ground itself, and therefore he sometimes attacks the beast and frightens him. Finally, from the storage shed, sitting quite high from the ground, the approach of the beast to the hodgepodge is much more audible, and it is more convenient and more visible to shoot it, even at night, than from sitting. Sites and storage sheds need to be arranged in advance, and not when it is already necessary to guard the animals so that the whole building is thoroughly blown by the wind, moistened with rain, then it will not have any smell, the white cuts of trees, perches, pegs and other accessories will turn yellow, even turn black and will not catch the eye of an incredulous, cautious beast. From a new seat or from a new storage shed, just made on old salt licks or hodgepodge, you will never kill a cunning beast, for he, having come to the salt lick, will certainly notice a new seat or a new storage shed, why will he immediately rush and run away, because he, perhaps , already several times visited the salt lick, got used to seeing it in one form, and then suddenly he notices new objects, he instinctively has a suspicion of the secret presence of a person, and he, denying himself a tasty dish, gets scared and runs without looking back into the forest, to a safe place ...

The main condition when arranging a seat or a storage shed on a salt lick or hodgepodge is to choose a place where the air does not stop, does not spin in one place, or, even worse, does not rush in all directions, but would pull itself constantly one way, one way or the other. If this condition is not met, it is difficult to kill any beast from such an ambush, because he will frighten him with his "spirit" and he will run away without reaching the hodgepodge.

The same artificial hodgepodge is prepared for red deer and wild goats; Similar storage sheds and sheds are built on natural salt licks near lakes and even whirlpools. In general, it must be said that the moose rarely goes to artificial hodgepodge, and he constantly visits natural salt licks, mineral iron springs, and especially the lakes where the ooze grows.

In such places for the guard of animals, you need to sit down before sunset and, hiding, ready to wait for the arrival of the beast. It is clear that two or even three hunters can sit on such sitbahs or storage sheds (the best is one), but by no means talking, not even whispering, not smoking, but, alerting your eyes and ears, expect the arrival of the beast. You should never come to a hodgepodge, salt lick or lake from the place from where you expect the beast, especially during dew, and by no means trample the salt lick, salt lick or lake shore where animals come. They usually approach sidbs or sheds even before dew, barefoot, on wooden or birch bark soles, but not in tar boots, from the side from which the beast should not come - this is in order not to stifle with its trail near the salt lick and thus not frighten beast. Industrialists who do not fulfill these conditions rarely hunt animals like the moose when hunting this kind. It is enough to frighten Prong once so that he does not come to this place again for at least a whole year! ..

If "God helps to kill" some beast on a hodgepodge, salt lick or lake, then you shouldn't cut it up right away, but drag it away, otherwise the beast's blood will ruin the whole matter for the future. In order to get rid of midges and mosquitoes, which in summer at night do not give rest to the guarding hunter, the local industrialists do this: they put in front of them a lit dry horse hair or a dry birch sponge. These substances never ignite with a flame, but only slowly smolder and produce a lot of smoke, with which the obnoxious midges are driven away. The beast is not afraid of smoke: he got used to it from his youthful days on the occasion of forest fires and spring burns.

Artificial hodgepodge with sidbs or storage sheds arranged on them play here important role in the world of the animal traders, constituting, as it were, their property, for which they stand firmly among themselves. Indeed, a hunter who has made a hodgepodge with all the comforts and fed animals to it has the right to use it only one. No one else, without the knowledge and permission of the owner, has the right to watch though only one night on someone else's hodgepodge. If the owner, having arrived at his hodgepodge, finds another hunter on it, who, without his knowledge, decided to guard the animals on it, then the legitimate owner has the right not only to drive out the uninvited guest, but even take away his rifle and prey. At least, this is the way it is between the local industrialists, who all know well where, what and to whom exactly the hodgepodge belongs. Many industrialists make public hodgepodge and watch the animals on them either one by one, or indiscriminately, dividing the prey killed on the hodgepodge among themselves. Many animals, constantly engaged in animal hunting and thus supporting their own and their families' existence, sometimes have several dozen different hodgepodge, and yet no one else can use them without their knowledge. Many hodgepodge, having existed for several years in a row, on which, perhaps, more than one hundred animals have been killed, have such a price among industrialists that upon the death of the owners they pass into the possession of the heirs or are bought from them by other wild beasts, often at a high price; sometimes they refuse according to a spiritual will to some of the relatives or friends of the owners. Public such rich hodgepodge, if necessary, is divided among the owners very differently, according to conditions or sentences.

The rule of using artificial hodgepodge, it must be said to the credit of the local industrialists, is quite sacredly observed by the bestial artists. This is good, because the owner sometimes, with bloody labors, will make himself a hodgepodge in a good place, bring animals to it, spend a few pounds of salt (about 1 kg), and another will come to ready-made works, and even kill expensive prey on them, is that reasonable ? No. That is why the right to use hodgepodge is in such respect among the bestial animals, especially in the spring time, when antlers are obtained on the hodgepodge. Of course, there are no rules without exception - there are also some kind of abuses that sooner or later will certainly be revealed between industrialists, will reach the owners, and then it is bad for violators of the order of someone else's property. As for the natural salt licks, lakes, pools, mineral springs and others, where animals are also guarded, the above rules are not observed there; here the owner is nature: whoever came to the place earlier is right.

It should be noted that the elk usually resorts to a salt lick, a lake or a hodgepodge at a trot, so you will hear him long before arriving at the expected place by knocking and cracking if he runs through the forest. In very rare cases, this animal, quietly stealthily, will approach the hodgepodge and, before it comes out to a clean place, will begin to listen to every rustle, to look closely at every object suspicious for it. This only happens when hunters often sit in the places chosen for the guard and scare the animals with shots. That is why good industrialists do not sit on the same hodgepodge more than ten times during the year. As a rule, the elk, running to a salt lick or a hodgepodge, immediately begins to eat the salty soil, makes noise, rattles his teeth like a young horse chewing food, and rushes headlong to save himself if he just hears the smell of a hunter. Therefore, having chosen a convenient moment, you need to shoot immediately, especially if you are sitting on the floor, and not on the storage shed, all the more so when the wind is bad, uneven draft; ...

If the elk comes to the lake, then at first he usually bathes, and then he begins to get out and eat the ooze. While the moose dives into the water, pressing his huge ears, he hears nothing, not even a rifle shot, if there was a miss. The best thing is to aim at the beast when he takes his head out of the water, with mouthful bitter caviar, because at this time the water runs from his head in streams and murmurs, as if from a small cascade. At the same time, I consider it not superfluous to note that the moose very quickly chews and swallows food, why the hunter should not hesitate, but rather shoot. If you don’t frighten the elk that comes to the lake, he will probably stay on it all night and wait for the morning dawn. This beast is tall and does not like to be cunning if he is not forced; has come, and is enjoying it completely. Therefore, many local industrialists are too dark nights they do not shoot the dry elders, but wait for the dawn and then they send the right bullet to the stricken beast. In exactly the same way they watch for the moose people on the pools of mountain rivers and beat them with rifles.

Since shooting in dry solyanka, salt licks, lakes and pools from sideb or from storage sheds is carried out mostly late in the evening, even more often at night, the local industrialists impose on the ends of rifles, along the upper edge of the barrel, white thin tallow sticks, which are called beacons ... It is difficult to shoot without them on dark autumn nights. The lighthouse is different in whiteness, bleaches from the general darkness and serves as a good target for the hunter. Some industrialists, instead of white sticks, impose rotten sticks on the ends of the trunks, which serve as beacons for them; Although they are more visible than the first, there is a lot of fuss with them, and their animals are often frightened if they accidentally notice, therefore they are less used.

Hunting on salt licks, saltwort, pools and lakes usually begins at the beginning of summer and ends late autumn, when severe frosts have already begun.

Moose hunting for "wabu".

In mid-September, in some places a little earlier, and in the northern regions of Siberia, from the twentieth of September, the elk rut begins. The places of their "currents" are the same from year to year. Even after dark, the bulls begin to emit muffled groans, turning into a restrained roar, as it were. It is very difficult to hear the moan of an elk even on a quiet morning at a distance of more than a kilometer. At night, moose calm down, but just before sunrise they begin their mating rolls again. During the rut, moose angrily break young trees with their horns and, without fear, walk over the dead wood with a loud crash. However, it is not easy to approach the elk during the rut. Their hearing is well developed, and they can easily hear an inexperienced hunter approaching them. And already if you disturb the moose, then this morning you will not get close to them.

For a successful hunt, you need to be an hour before dawn in those places where signs of elk rut were found in advance: broken bushes, full of "current" and fresh tracks. Alone or together with the feller, the hunter moves through the lands, listening attentively and vigilantly peering into the forest thicket. The hunter's gait should not be sneaky. You need to walk like an animal - with your foot firmly in place. It doesn't matter if a dry branch crunches under your foot; sometimes such a sound attracts a bull, enraged by the presence of a rival in the place of his current, and he may suddenly appear in front of the hunter.

If the hunter or his merchant knows how to drive - to imitate the voice of a bull - then occasionally sounds should be made that could be made by a middle-aged bull. To the groan of such a young rival, without fear of him, the old bulls go bolder.

This hunt, captivating the hunter with an extraordinary setting, promises unexpected meeting with an angry bull, which is formidable and dangerous, undoubtedly, is of exceptional sporting interest.

When the bull, judging by the sounds, set off on the waba and suddenly got up somewhere behind the thicket, you need to hide for a while, as if on a capercaillie current, and then break a dry branch or, bending down to the ground, give one more voice. And here every second you need to be ready for a quick, right shot.

Naturally, in such a hunt you need to be collected, disciplined, cold-blooded, accurate. After all, there were cases when another hunter came up to the voice of a wabelitsik and a bullet sent by a too hot hunter went to him, and not to the bull. Taking precautions is the first and the most important rule on this hunt ...

Calendar.

January ... Young males shed their horns. In deep snow, it leads an almost sedentary life. More aspen forests adhere near swamps and rivers, garniks; in the Urals there are also boars and large mountains. Hunting by a round-up (with shouts), with wild dogs (huskies), sometimes with hounds, on horseback; hunting with a skrad.

February ... The young shed their horns; the old ones show new ones at the end. The hunt is the same.

March ... During the infusion, it stands in the thickets (two weeks). Horns are beginning to show and the sides are shedding.

April ... Begins to shed, and red short hair is shown. The horns reach their real size and begin to harden. In the Baltic States and southern Siberia, moose cows begin to calve at the end of the month (1-2).

May ... The horns harden. Most of the females calve (in meadows or marshy more often). Bulls keep on garnets with fireweed and near rivers and marshes. Young, last year's moose calves walk (in small forests) separately from the queens, sometimes with two-year-olds.

June ... Finally fades. In the north (sometimes in the middle lane) it calves in the first half. It prefers to swim near the water, in the most remote and swampy places. Molting. The skin on the horns dries up and the horns ossify.

July ... It prefers to swim in swampy thickets and in sections, near rivers. Moose calves walk everywhere with a queen.

August ... The horns finally harden, and the skin falls off on them. In the southwestern regions (in Volyn) and in Lithuania, a chase sometimes begins at the end of the month. In the Urals, they hunt with dogs and shoot on rivers from the entrance of a boat.

September ... In the first half, males begin to roar. The chase (along the edges) near the water often begins in the middle of the month and lasts about two weeks. Young people are chasing first. At the end of the chase, the males leave for the thickets. Moose calves walk separately from queens, sometimes together with young, last year or two year olds. In the first days, hunting on salt licks ends (in Siberia) and shooting from a boat entrance (in the Urals). Hunting with skrad (when it snows) and semolina.

October ... In more southern areas, the chase ends in the first half. Begins to walk widely, mostly in aspen and willow forests, and gathers in small herds in the north. Hunting by round-up and concealment (on the first snow) in windy weather.

November ... It roams everywhere, mainly in deciduous woodlands. At the end of the month in the Northern Urals, old males begin to shed their horns. The best time for hunting with a round-up in the snow.

December ... In the second half, it begins to shed the horns (old ones first). In deep snow, it usually stands in aspen and willow forests and walks more in very coldy and clear days. Hunting with a round-up continues until the end of the month, in general, until the horns are thrown off.

Moose meat

Elk meat has a very high consumption. It is very nutritious and healthy, but it tastes like sulfur and tastes good only (except for calf meat) fresh and soon expires and becomes dry and flabby; the most delicious is the upper lip of the elk, from which the jelly is made; Elk brains fried in a pan with eggs and wheat flour are also considered a very tasty dish. Usually, the meat is cut into ten parts: 1.head, 2.neck, 3.rump, 4.back withers, 5.back between the quilts, 6.the middle of the back bone, 7.the front quilted, 8.legs, 9.the front shoulder blades and 10. sternum; entrails, except for the liver, are thrown away, and, of course, the beast is fresh in the forest.

Elk often gives about 250 kg of meat, sometimes up to 400 and in very rare cases - up to 480 kg. The fattest meat occurs before heat, in early August; then up to 32 kg of fat is removed from the large elk, which is used for food.

Elk antlers, reaching up to forty and in exceptional cases up to fifty pounds (about 20 kg) in weight, are sometimes thrown by hunters, but most of them go to various household crafts, for example, petioles for knives, etc.

Elk hunting terminology.

There is a special terminology for the definition of individual body parts of moose:

The front of the head - the lips of an elk - "snoring".

The young sprouts of the horns are "knots".

The first anterior processes on the horns are "tusks".

Remaining after the fall of the horns of their bases - "plaques".

The young branches of the growing horn are velvet knots.

The hoof of an elk is a "support", and horny growths above the hooves are "supports".

Voice - "groan", mistakenly called in literature a roar, does not at all look like a roar, but represents a deep sigh, as it were. Moose make other sounds as well. When an elk is detained by huskies, it emits deep muttering and strong humming in anger and irritation, very similar to the sounds made by an angry bear and wild boar.

Oval-shaped moose droppings are usually called "nuts" by hunters.

The main material is taken from open sources of information.
Prepared by Evgeny Svitov.

Elk (elk) - Alces alces L.

The elk is not only the largest of the deer family, but in general the largest animal of the land mammals in Russia (not counting the Bialowieza bison).

At first glance, the elk is a rather ugly and clumsy animal, but in fact it is an extremely strong and agile animal. The large head of a moose has a characteristic hump-nosed muzzle. In males, the head is crowned with very massive, spatulate horns (hence the name "elkish"). The neck and body of the elk are very massive and strong. Tall and relatively thin legs are equipped with long and narrow hooves, which, spreading out, prevent the heavy elk from getting stuck in the swampy soil, and in the snow in winter. The footprint of an elk is of medium size: for a bull, it is about 13 cm wide and 16 cm long, a cow's footprint is slightly smaller - about 10 cm wide and 14 cm long. The coloration of an adult moose is grayish-brown, and the legs are colored lighter than the body. The coat is thick, long and rather coarse. It reaches its greatest length on the neck, where it forms a mane, which is better expressed in males and reaches 20 cm in length. On the throat of an elk there is an "earring" or a small outgrowth covered with long hair that forms a beard. The body length of an adult male moose is 2.5-2.9 m, the height of the body at the nape is about 1.9 m, the length of the tail is about 8-10 cm. The body weight of an old male reaches 500 kg and even up to 620 kg. Females are somewhat smaller than males.

Only the male has antlers, like most deer; they begin to grow at the end of the first year of life. These first horns look like straight, smooth spokes without lateral processes. In the third year of life, the horns have two processes, in each subsequent year the number of processes is added one at a time, and the horns become thicker and more massive. In the fourth or fifth year of life, the "shovel" begins to develop. Starting from the sixth to seventh year, the shovel continues to grow, and the horns become larger and larger, but the correctness of the annual addition of shoots is already violated. Elk antlers often develop asymmetrically, i.e. there is a different number processes. The antlers of a ten-year-old elk have 12-14 tines on each antler. The greatest power and thickness of the horns are achieved with 8-12 processes on each horn, 'when the total weight of the horns reaches 15-20 kg. In span (the distance between the extreme processes), the horns of old bulls reach up to 120-130 cm.

The elk is widespread in the northern parts of Eastern Europe, Asia and North America. In Russia, it is distributed throughout the forest belt, with the exception of Kamchatka and Sakhalin.

Elk is an original inhabitant of the forests of the Nizhny Novgorod region, but the number and areas of habitation within the region have changed dramatically at different times.

A. N. Formozov (1935) points out: “At the beginning of our era, the elk was a very numerous animal. Among the kitchen remains of ancient settlements, the Vetluga River, the bones of moose have been noted by me in abundance, and the bones of huge moose were not rare ”. Due to the settling of forests by humans, located now on the territory of our region, and from intensive hunting for elk, its number was sharply reduced.

Elk habitats are quite diverse. It keeps in forests of coniferous, mixed and deciduous, in old fires, in moss and peat bogs, in valleys and floodplains of forest rivers, but always prefers remote and strong places, little visited by humans and abundant with young shoots of soft deciduous species.

Leaves, young shoots and bark of various trees serve as food for elk. Moose are especially fond of aspen, poplar, various willows and birches. They also eat young shoots and young cones. conifers... Of the conifers, the greatest preference is given to pine and juniper. In addition to tree species, moose willingly eat various grasses, aquatic and coastal plants of bogs, which are their favorite food in summer.

The time of the onset of sexual maturity in moose is determined by different authors differently. So, N. M. Kulagin believes that it occurs already 16 months after birth. The flow or elk rut takes place in September, often dragging on to October. During the rutting season, males often let out a lowing sound that resembles a dull roar. At this time, there are fierce battles between males. Opponents sometimes, with mutual blows, are so intertwined with horns that they cannot separate, and, having fallen, the exhausted ones die. The elk, unlike many other deer, is monogamous, that is, it mates with only one female and, having paired with a chosen friend, keeps together with her for a very long time.

Elk gestation is estimated to be about eight months. A moose calf usually brings two calves, and much less often than one or three. The calf rises to its feet within 10-20 minutes after birth, and after two or three days, together with its mother, makes quite large transitions. The calf begins to eat leaves and young shoots after one and a half to two months, and ends sucking at the beginning of the fourth month of age, when it completely switches to vegetable food... The family of elk stays together until the start of the next rut, when the young are driven away from the moose, but after the end of the rut they usually join it again. Moose lead wandering image life, but still adhere to a certain, though large, area. They have a seasonal change of habitat. So, in the summer, during the period of the greatest development of mosquitoes and midges, from which moose suffer very much, they move to swamps, where they escape from the midges by entering the water. In addition to such relatively small movements, moose often undertake very large migrations, sometimes appearing in areas where they were previously absent, and, conversely, disappearing from areas where they were most often encountered.

Moose of this kind sometimes migrate over a very considerable distance. The reasons for moose to make these migrations are not yet completely clear. Moose molt takes place in the spring in March - April and lasts until June.

Moose antlers are shed in winter, from late December to February, with older bulls shedding their antlers in December and the youngest in February.
Old bulls begin to grow new horns from late February to early March and reach their full growth at the end of June. At this time, the horns, although they are already hardening, are still covered with wool. The horns are finally hardened and cleaned of the hair covering them only in August, before the rut.

Of the senses, elk have the best developed hearing and smell, and their vision is much worse.

The elk is a very cautious but not cowardly animal. A moose usually leaves a person, but a wounded moose or a moose for a person represents great danger... Moose cows who protect calves also bravely and boldly attack animals and humans. When attacking, the elk hits the enemy with strong front legs, and the bulls also with their horns. It is more difficult for a person to defend against an angry elk even than from a bear, and there is a saying among hunters: “You go to a bear - make a bed, and on a moose - a coffin.”

Prong, caught by a young calf, is perfectly tamed, gets used to people, is meek and humble. There have been repeated, quite successful attempts to use the moose as a mount. Elks were taught not only to harness, but also to ride on horseback. The moose, as a mount, has a number of advantages over the horse, reindeer and dog. He is much more resilient than a deer and a horse, his run is very fast, and he, undoubtedly, can pass through such swampy places and such deep snow, where the horse would certainly get stuck, and most importantly, he does not need to store food for him, as for dogs and horses, and you do not need to look for reindeer lichen, as any young tree growth gives elk abundant food... However, it must be firmly remembered that without tannins, which are contained in the young branches of willow and aspen, the elk cannot exist normally. Unfortunately, moose born in captivity can be weak and rickety.

The solution to the problem of elk domestication lies primarily in the development of a suitable diet, and especially for the pregnant female.

Elk is the most valuable game animal. Its meat is very tasty, good suede (leggings), belts and soles are made from leather. The leather from his feet is used for padding skis, wool is used for padding furniture. Horns are used as decoration and for various small crafts. Elk's hooves and antlers produce excellent glue.

In the Nizhny Novgorod region, elk hunting is regulated by law, and poaching is punishable by high fines and imprisonment. Unfortunately, in remote areas with these laws some do not really take into account and moose are beaten without any regret.