Moose Defends Itself Against Wolf
An epic battle between a moose and a wolf. A drone video captures idyllic scenes from southern Canada. But suddenly a wolf leaps from the forest and attacks. In the water, however, the moose has the advantage thanks to its longer legs.
A wolf must be starving to attack an adult moose — especially considering the risk of injury involved. Notice how the wolf initially tried to attack the moose's hind legs to prevent it from running or kicking out. On the second attempt, the wolf manages to grab a front leg and becomes highly vulnerable to the “ribs-breaking” kicks from the moose's hind legs. Even as the moose tried to escape after the fight, the wolf chased it through the water for quite some time. But this time, the wolf had to accept defeat and find a meal elsewhere.
Wolves as Ecological Engineers
The video is a great example of how wolves can attack prey many times their own size. It also demonstrates the wolf's agility, stamina, and patience when it comes to hunting large animals.
In the Canadian wilderness, the moose is one of the largest prey animals a wolf can hunt. In Europe, moose numbers are relatively low, while smaller and lighter prey animals such as roe deer are plentiful.
A Well-Thought-Out Hunting Strategy
Wolves typically carry out carefully considered attacks after analyzing the situation to identify the weakest prey. In some cases, the wolf will “spy” on potential prey for an extended period before attacking. A case study from France documents that this can last up to two weeks.
Fleeing prey animals often trigger the start of the actual attack — in this case, most commonly the sick, weak, and older animals. By removing these individuals, the wolf acts as an ecological engineer, restoring the natural balance. This benefits the wilderness and can improve the health of forests. Numerous studies show that predators fulfill this role more effectively than recreational hunters.
More on the subject of recreational hunting: In our dossiers on recreational hunting gather fact-checks, analyses and background reports. The scientific evidence is presented in the overview Studies on the Effects of Recreational Hunting.
The position of IG Wild beim Wild: IG Wild beim Wild rejects recreational hunting. Our model is the canton of Geneva, which has managed without recreational hunting since 1974: without hunting seasons, without hunting dogs, without driven hunts, without high seats, without the animal cruelty and crime that go hand in hand with hunting season elsewhere. What has worked there for over fifty years disproves every position paper by JagdSchweiz. An association that bases its policy on claims it refutes in its own documents is not a professional organisation, but a factory for misinformation.
