Why don’t bull moose in rut eat?
Reduced forage intake by males is generally believed to coincide with the peak of rutting activities in many ungulates. Time spent feeding by bull moose begins to decrease in early September: large bulls completely cease feeding for approximately 2 weeks, primarily in the third and fourth week of September. Smaller bulls feed at reduced rates, but do not cease feeding. Although large bulls spend large amounts of time engaged in social behaviour during the period of appetite suppression, much of their active time is also spent standing inattentive, engaged in little or no activity, suggesting that a constraint in time does not limit opportunities to feed. Forage intake reduction is more likely mediated through a physiological mechanism. Feeding cessation does not necessarily coincide with the peak of the rut. In high density areas, feeding cessation is significantly earlier than the height of breeding behaviour and fighting. The timing of feeding cessation coincides more with that of sc
