I once killed a cow caribou here on the Kenai Peninsula with an ear tag that indicated she was from the first re-introduction. If she was a calf at the time, it would have made her 23 years old....
She did seem a bit senile, but with caribou, it can be hard to tell.....
I've only killed two caribou, but they were kinda' interesting to watch!
I don't recall anything in the moose biology that I have read that indicates bulls have a higher mortality rate in the first 2 years of life. Nor do I fathom why males of any wild ungulate species would have a higher mortality in the first two years of life. What I do recall is that if an animal (moose of any sex) lives to be a year old, it is likely to live a full life-span with bulls generally having somewhat shorter life spans than cows due to the stresses and injuries of rut when mature.
'Cause bulls are males--they tend to do more risky things
In mule deer, it seems male fawns are more susceptible to pnuemonia and scours, and more likely to die in that first year.
Suprisingly, bull elk during the rut burn/have higher energy requirements than a pregnant cow during the third trimester. If those bulls don't put that weight back on before the real cold sets in, there chances of survival go down quite a bit.
Casey
