Alaskan Moose Startles Itself After Shedding Both Antlers With Loud Bang
Incredibly fortuitous timing for Anchorage, Alaska resident Christie Ericson who had just gotten home from work when she noticed a moose across the street and managed to pull out her phone in time to capture an incredibly rare moment.
The moose was nibbling on a tree branch when it shook its head vigorously and dropped both of its antlers at once. The noise of the antlers hitting the ground startled both the moose and the observer. The moose took off at the sound of the antlers hitting the frozen ground and Ericson stood in disbelief at the rarity of the moment she just witnessed. The noise sounds like two 2x4s smashing together and is much louder than you might expect. Check it out:
Moose typically shed their antlers during the period after the rut, autumn breeding season, when testosterone levels drop. The connection between the antler and the skull, called the pedicle, weakens as hormone levels drop eventually leading to the antlers detaching naturally, often within two or three weeks. Shedding is usually painless experience for the moose. Both antlers may drop almost simultaneously but more often than not they are lost one at a time, leading to sightings of moose with only one antler for days or weeks.
What an amazing thing to see from the end of your driveway. Alaska has a well deserved reputation as one of the last truly wild places in America and you don’t have to be in the backcountry to get a taste of it.
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