You can always count on wildlife to be entertaining. Whether it is enjoying a scenic view of deer grazing in a field or a bear trying to sneak into a hot tub, wild animals are always a joy to behold. However, visitors at a Montana lodge got quite the eyeful the other day. These visitors got to witness a young male moose try to mate with a wooden statue.
Love Is Hard: Young Moose In Montana Mistakes Wooden Statue For A Mate
Mating season can be tough. Not only does an adolescent moose have to impress potential mates, but he also needs to fight off other competitors. This can be especially challenging for a young bull because females tend to prefer more mature bulls with larger antlers. However, it is not all about antler size. These younger moose have other tactics they can use to attract a female. Walking Mountains Science Center shares that they also have a unique tactic for attracting mates, their urine. That's right moose urine "is a powerful aphrodisiac to cows." So the male moose will "use their antlers to dig pits in the mud called wallows. They fill these mud pits with their own urine and rub the muddy mixture on themselves as a sort of stinky cologne."
Sounds pleasant, doesn't it? So, perhpas it is no surprise that this young moose got excited when he thought he found a willing mate. In a now viral video, visitors of the Roosevelt Center in Red Lodge captured the moment that a young moose mistook a wooden statue for a mate. In the video, the moose began by inspecting the statue. He started by sniffing the statue, then he laid his head on the sculpture's rear end. When it appeared that the affection was accepted, at least in the moose's eyes, he proceeded to mount the wooden statue.
Kevin and Joan Owens are two people among the crowd witnessing the event. Kevin spoke to Cowboy State Daily about the incident.
"He was mounting that baby pretty hard," he stated, "it caused quite a traffic jam."
Additionally, he joked about the young bull's lack of awareness when it came to finding a potential mate.
"It's always somebody's first time, and this guy learned," Kevin said. "I'm sure he woke up with splinters."
