Author Archives: Kristin S.

The Mighty Moose

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Kristin S.

Moose Richard JohnsonEarlier in the season, nature photographer and Mass Audubon volunteer extraordinaire, Richard Johnson, set out to photograph a moose that had been spotted at Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary in Princeton, Massachusetts.

Waiting patiently from the safety of his car, telephoto lens ready, Richard snapped this photo when the moose appeared at the edge of a sanctuary meadow. The announcement and photograph on Facebook generated much excitement and many folks expressed surprise that moose were in Massachusetts.

Hiding in Plain Sight
According to MassWildlife, there may be 1,000 or more moose living and breeding in Massachusetts. At Wachusett Meadow, there have been sightings for more than a decade. But that wasn’t always the case.

Back in the early 1700’s, much of Massachusetts’ forests had been cleared for farming. Since this habitat is essential for moose, they moved on, all but disappearing from our borders. Fast forward to the present, Massachusetts is the 8th most forested state in the country. So it’s not surprising that moose join the growing list of animals, including fishers, eastern coyotes, wild turkeys, and beavers that have returned to our neck of the woods.

For the most part, moose can be found in central and western Massachusetts. Rarely, a moose may even be spotted in the eastern part of the state, like the young moose that wandered through a backyard in Wellesley in June.

Moose Facts

  • Everything about a moose is big! They are the largest deer in the world and the biggest antlered animal in the world. At shoulder height, moose can stand up to 6 feet tall. An adult female generally weighs 500-700 pounds; an adult male 600-1,000 pounds.
  • Males grow antlers in early spring. If the male is full grown and well fed, his antlers can weigh over 30 pounds and measure 7 feet across. Imagine carrying that much weight on your head!
  • Big antlers help attract a mate in September and October and then fall to the forest floor in early winter, where they are gnawed on by mice, porcupine, and rabbits in search of calcium and minerals.
  • Females give birth in May and June, usually to single calves who stay with their mothers for one year until the mother is ready to calve again.
  • Moose tracks are similar to white-tailed deer tracks in shape (two crescent-shaped halves), but are much bigger: usually 4-6 inches long if they belong to an adult moose. The pointed end of the track indicates the direction of travel. Like white-tailed deer, a moose leaves an alternating walking pattern.
  • In Algonquin, the name moose means “eater of twigs” or “stripper of bark” and, indeed, moose are huge herbivores, eating up to 60 pounds of roughage daily. In winter, moose eat needle bearing trees and hardwood bark, buds, and twigs. Favorites include willow, aspen, white birch, and mountain ash.
  • Like all deer, moose lack a set of upper incisors, so moose tear and strip browse and bark rather than cutting their food neatly. Unlike smaller deer, moose browse very high—up to 7 feet above the ground.

If You See a Moose
You’re most likely to see a moose in September and October during breeding season (when males go in search of a mate) and again in May when the young of the previous year leave their mother before she calves again.

It can be thrilling to see such a large, beautiful animal in the wild, but be careful! “While not aggressive by nature, moose can pose a threat at certain times of the year,” says Bill Davis, District Supervisor with MassWildlife. “Males entering their breeding season could react if people approach, he notes. Likewise females with calves can be very protective and defensive. Watch and enjoy moose always from a respectful distance.”

If you do see a moose, please report your finding to MassWildlife to help them continue to monitor moose populations. And if you see a moose at a Mass Audubon wildlife sanctuary, let us know!

Want to learn more about wildlife in the winter?
Take a Mass Audubon tracking class this winter and learn to recognize tracks and scat of moose and other winter animals.

Photo © Richard Johnson

What Happened to the American Chestnut?

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Kristin S.

Once upon a time, the American chestnut was king.

Some 100 years ago, this tree dominated the eastern forest from Maine to Georgia. It was the most numerous tree in the forest (one of every four hardwood trees was a chestnut). It was the biggest tree, sporting massive trunks up to 10 feet in diameter and reaching 100 feet high. And it was the most important tree, supporting every material need of humans and wildlife.

“At last when the tree can serve us no longer in any other way it forms the basic wood onto which oak and other woods are veneered to make our coffins,” said forester, P.L. Buttrick, in 1915 (Mighty Giants, p.67).

The American chestnut exemplified the cradle-to-grave concept, literally. So what makes this tree so useful?

  • Its wood—strong, straight, and resistant to decay—was used to build everything from homes to furniture to fences, railroad ties, and barrels.
  • Its tannin was extracted and used in the manufacture of leather and the dying of silk.
  • Its blossoms, beloved by bees, produced the sweetest honey.
  • Its highly nutritious and abundant nuts provided food for wildlife and people. Squirrels, bear, turkeys, and deer relied on nuts for food, and rural economies depended upon the nuts for fattening pigs, feeding families, and earning cash.

Blighted by Blight
Then one of the greatest natural disasters in forest history struck. In 1904, a devastating fungus was discovered on chestnut trees in New York’s Bronx Zoo. Within a few decades, the chestnut blight had killed over 4 billion chestnut trees on more than 200 million acres in eastern North America.

Today, you can still find chestnut trees in your local woods, but they are usually stumpy sprouts that rarely reach more than 10-20 feet high before succumbing to the blight. The roots of the tree continue to live and send out sprouts, but the tree will never grow tall and majestic like its ancestors.

A Path Forward
Thankfully, there is hope for the American chestnut. Last spring, Mass Audubon’s Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary became a demonstration site for The American Chestnut Foundation’s (TACF) efforts to restore the American chestnut tree to our eastern woodlands.

By backcrossing the American chestnut with Asian chestnuts (which are naturally immune to the blight), the goal is to create an American chestnut that is blight-resistant but almost completely American, with all the strong qualities of the majestic trees of a century ago.

Wachusett Meadow’s demonstration orchard hosts five young seedlings, several generations into the breeding program. These five seedlings may not hold the key to the future in their DNA, but their presence will raise public awareness about the American chestnut and restoration efforts. Come see for yourself: An interpretative sign at the start of the South Meadow Trail points the way!

Want to learn more about the American chestnut?

Photo: American chestnut circa 1910 Courtesy of the Forest History Society