Behavioral Adaptations of the Moose

Head Tilting

• Moose have several biological adaptations that are clear to a human observer; these include the extremely long legs for walking through snow and the large antlers for protection and dominance. As moose often live and must sometimes run through dense brush, its antlers are so large that if the moose did not adapt a technique for running, they'd never be able to evade danger. When moose run, their head tilts backward. Due to the arrangement of the antlers, this allows the antlers to rest mostly on a horizontal plane, which provides less contact with surrounding brush.

Twig Eaters

• Winters are harsh in northern North America. Lots of snow falls, water converts to ice, freezing temperatures occur and relatively little food exists. One adaptation moose have adopted in response to this lack of essential nutrition is twig eating. Although twigs are not the most ideal food source, if consumed in mass quantity, they can be beneficial. During the winter, moose can eat as much as 50 lb. of fir trees, birches and willow twigs per day.

Salt

• As food and water are scarce during the winter, so is salt -- an essential element in the body of any mammal and something that many mammals enjoy. Moose will commonly lick salt left on roads, which are often salted to make driving conditions easier. Food scarcity means that calories run very low during the winter months. During this time, to prevent excess loss of calories, moose waste as little energy as possible by avoiding movement unless necessary.

Summer Months

• Because moose are made for harsh, cold weather survival, the summer months can provide problems of overheating. To adapt, moose grow a winter coat of hair to help conserve extra body heat during the winter; like most animals do, moose shed the hair during the summer to help prevent overheating. Alternatively, moose will often spend time within rivers or lakes to keep their body cool. Like most mammals, moose will also look for shady areas to rest, much like an African lion would on the plains of Africa.