Why didn't anyone domesticate the moose?

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

At different times, different peoples have tamed many different representatives of the fauna: antelopes, cheetahs, lions, parrots, cranes, ostriches, snakes and even crocodiles. But to tame does not mean to domesticate. A little more than two dozen animals were truly domesticated by man.

Why didn't the common elk in our middle lane become cattle? After all, they are easily tamed, they give milk and other products. They can be used as a mount, carry a load or a rider weighing 120 kg, or haul a harness weighing about 400 kg. Although the elk, of course, is inferior to the horse in running. The answer to this interesting question can be found only in the Kostroma region, at the country's only elk farm.

This farm is one of a kind. Conditions have been created here that animals live in the wild and come to the farm themselves whenever they want, moose cows voluntarily come to the evening milking and give milk, and little moose calves are raised by people, replacing their parents.

Only a bull (a male elk) during the autumn rut, or a female protecting her calf, poses a certain danger to humans. And so moose are good-natured and calm animals, as real forest giants should be. People have long had their eyes on the elk, but close friendship, as with a goat, horse or ram, did not work out.

In principle, there have been attempts to domesticate moose, and among some peoples they have been very successful, in particular the Tungus and Yakuts (those who live in the taiga). They say that even in the days of Mother Empress Catherine, the exiled convicts tamed moose calves, and then, when they grew up, they tried to go around them. But the local governor-general thwarted such attempts, because he was afraid that the convicts would scatter on horseback. Indeed, unlike a horse, an elk will pass through any swamp.

The one who gave milk to a newborn calf from a nipple becomes a moose mother. The kid captures this person at the level of imprinting and follows him everywhere. On the Kostroma farm, Mikhail is a parent with many children, with ten moose calves on his neck, who follow him everywhere and obey unquestioningly. In the morning they have to be taken away for a walk several kilometers, then brought to the farm, fed and taken back to the forest. There the moose calves spend the night, and the teacher (under cover of darkness) quietly runs home to the family in order to return in the morning and again lead his small herd. And you constantly have to count your cloven-hoofed baby.

So why haven't people tamed the moose? Here the reasons are in the animals themselves.

Males: If the leaves on the broom offered to the elk are slightly wilted, he will disdainfully turn away and not touch the treat

Do you know how many hectares of forest a moose needs for a normal food supply? Not 50. Not 100. And not even 200. 400! The density of elk can never be very high, because each animal has its own very large foraging area. He eats branches, bark, algae, mushrooms, leaves, lichens, in total - more than 350 of all kinds of ingredients. Moreover, at different times of the year, the animal has different preferences. Can you offer a moose such a menu in captivity - in your backyard or even in a large zoo? That is why the elk did not become domesticated.

Females: The moose cows do not come to the farm to be milked, but to feed the adopted people

People traditionally take milk from females. In a moose cow it is good, fatty (13-14%, up to 19% - it all depends on the season, on the food), very tasty, and most importantly - healing. Heals ulcers, gastritis and improves the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. But there is not much of it - at the peak of activity, in May, 3 liters are collected for two milkings (morning and evening). At the same time, moose cows are very sensitive - if they are frightened, milk may disappear. But here's the most interesting thing: each moose cow perceives her milkmaid as her own child. The moose cows do not come to the farm to be milked, but to feed the adopted people. Each moose cow knows her milkmaid by sight and loves like a baby a moose calf. After milking, he will also lick her at last.

Cubs: The teacher has to leave the young animals unnoticed at night. And the moose calves will remain waiting for him where they saw him last

Moose have excellent visual memory, so they clearly remember the route and can find their way home on their own, but moose calves never leave their teacher. That is why Michael has to constantly call them loudly so that they do not scatter too far. In the same way, we humans go around in the forest when we pick mushrooms or berries. But moose calves can also get carried away with something tasty and fight off the teacher. The teacher has to leave the young animals at night imperceptibly. And the moose calves will remain waiting for him where they last saw him.

And most importantly, for all the trepidation, the elk, both as a harness and as a riding animal, cannot be compared with a horse, donkey or camel. First, it cannot demonstrate the same endurance over long distances. Secondly, he is often stubborn and goes not at all where the rider or driver directs him. Finally, he will not be content with an armful of hay or a bag of oats. On the eve of World War II, an interesting project was launched to create a "horned cavalry" for the Red Army. This was a very serious intention carried out by scientists. Several secret elk farms were created. Today there is only one left - the Sumarokovskaya moose farm in the Kostroma region. But the moose here are free people, and the hedges and grates were not set up for them, but for numerous visitors. So that the animals are not disturbed once again.