Grizzly Bear Approaches Moose Calves and Mama Comes to Their Rescue
We've all heard the term "Mama Bear", and this video shows everybody exactly why moms call themselves that...even if in this case it was a Mama Moose! @Sally Morgan shared a video on Facebook at the beginning of January showing just how far a mom will go to protect her babies.
The video starts with a grizzly bear approaching a moose and her calves. Mom is in the water, and the two calves are lying on the shoreline. You can tell that mom is getting anxious as the grizzly slowly approaches. Mom knows that the bear wants to make one of her babies his next meal. Watch what happens when the bear gets too close for comfort.
Mama moose was not messing around and went full on mama bear mode! That bear was not having one of her babies for lunch, and she made sure he knew he wasn't welcome anywhere near her calves. I'll be honest and admit that when I first watched @Sally's video, I was paying so much attention to mom that I didn't even notice the calves - I thought they were large rocks! It took another watch before I realized the babies were sitting on the shore in front of mom. Commenters of course praised mom's reaction and her fierce protection. @Jessica Franklin made me laugh when she admitted, "And this is why I am more afraid of moose than bears! LOL!"
Related: Kind Man Sadly Loses His Job After Stopping to Rescue a Baby Moose
Facts About Moose Calves
I realized that I didn't know anything about baby moose, so I thought I'd do a little research. I found a website called All About Moose, and they shared some very interesting facts about these calves. Babies are usually born in the spring (mothers are pregnant for about 231 days) and within just days, they are able to outrun a human. But when they are born they are completely helpless and very vulnerable, so mom will keep her babies hidden for many days to try to avoid predators. When born, they will weigh about 30 pounds, however twins will each weigh about half of that. These guys grow fast - they gain about a pound a day.
I didn't know this but moose have very poor eyesight, but their hearing and sense of smell make up for it. They make little grunts when they are born but develop a human sounding wail in just a few days.
And the most interesting fact I found about moose has to do with their name. "Moose" comes from the Algonquin name moz, which loosely means "twig eater." This makes sense because they eat fruit and plants on both land and in the water. I love learning the origins of words!
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