Wait For It…Moose Lands In Back of Pickup Truck During Fight

Hailing from the north, moose are some iconic animals known for their grit and toughness. They also boast large antlers that can be conspicuously found on males during the breeding season. Males use their antlers to display strength and health during the mating season. They also use them to fight other males who are competing for the same females in a given area. This type of competition is exactly what happens in the video below, which shows a male moose landing in the back of a pickup truck during a fight. 

Check Out The Entire Video Below!

The clip shows two males fighting, using their giant antlers to push each other back and forth near a line of parked cars. It’s unclear if there are any nearby female moose that are watching the fight, but the males are still stirred up regardless! They continue fighting for a few moments, pushing each other back and forth. After some time, one of the males gets pushed into the bed of a parked truck. Its weight can be seen pushing the truck, likely dealing some damage to it in the process. 

Why Do Male Moose Fight?

Antlers are primarily a sexual characteristic of male moose that are used to display health and reproductive viability. Theoretically, males with more elaborate and bigger horns are healthier and will produce better offspring. It is for this reason that females tend to select healthier males in an attempt to give their offspring the best chance at survival. This type of competition is known as intersexual competition, which is a form of sexual selection where males compete for females’ attention. 

Furthermore, males also fight with their antlers, as shown in the video below. Sometimes this fighting is spurred on by the presence of a nearby female, and sometimes it simply happens when two males are in close proximity to one another.

Do Moose Lose Their Antlers?

Moose have a regular yearly pattern of growing and dropping their antlers. As mentioned, antlers are a sexual characteristic, mainly required by males during the breeding season to attract females. Biologically, they can be very taxing, due to their immense weight and size.

When not breeding, they can get in the way and hinder the ability of male moose to survive. Thus, during the non-breeding seasons, they will generally shed off their antlers. Typically, the mating season only lasts between September and October, so most don’t have antlers for long! 

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Keiki/Shutterstock.com