Starving calf moose

[sjemac]

My son shot this calf moose at the end of the season. We already had a few deer down and weren't going to fill his antlerless moose tag unless one was trying to commit suicide. We had seen this calf a few times on different properties always alone but generally with a cow loitering somewhere within a few hundred yards. The behavior was strange as normally calves stick quite close to their mothers. So we surmised that the calf was either orphaned or that Mom had rejected it. It was also extremely tiny when compared to other calves we had seen. So I had boy shoot it on the last day of our hunting while my other son filled his whitetail tag on a fat fawn buck.

First thing we noticed was that the heart of the calf was the same size as that in the little whitetail. Second, when we skinned it there was not one ounce of fat on the moose -- not in between the muscles, around the heart or around the kidneys. Third, the meat was pale. Twice as light as the fawn meat and nearly the color of veal. Finally the clincher was the red jelly-like bone marrow when we sawed the bones open. Even though its belly was full (as you can see) it was starving to death. I am glad we didn't make it go through a long death in winter.


http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/sjemac/2016/1C8CBA54-CCC2-41DB-80CF-B67D74969BEB_zpskga9eiz6.jpg

[kayaker]

Excellent animals to harvest!

Good eats ahead...

[elkdump]

There are early born calves , and there are late born calves sometimes close to 3 months difference in birthing times, depends when the cow was bred, time vary a lot,

As for light meat colour and fine texture and soft bones, yes calf moose that age are exactly that way ! The meat resembles beef veal yes, it is basically moose veal

You got yourself a veal,

[Ranger CS]

Good decision in harvesting this animal. Mortality rates are high for calf moose in general and I very much doubt this one would have survived the winter. Should be some fine eating.

[waterninja]

Congrats to your sons on helping fill the freezer. I think you guys did the right thing, and it's much better to have Moose "veal" then see it succumb to winter and become a Coyote dinner.

[Peebles]

I shot a calf moose early in my hunting career when I got too excited and picked the wrong one in the scope. The appearance of the internals was as you described. I doubt the one your boy got was starving yet based on how much foliage there still is and how warm it looks in your pic. Elkdump is on point.

One trick you could have tried since you said you had seen a cow in the vicinity but not very close would be a fawn distress call. Bawling can work even on cows that have all their calves or never had any at all. The maternal protective instinct is strong and I have a hunch the cow would have responded in the scenario you described.

Thanks for sharing. I love seeing young hunters in action.

[bluetick]

Calf could have been diseased and this could lead to why the mother abandoned it as well ,

[3blade]

There are early born calves , and there are late born calves sometimes close to 3 months difference in birthing times, depends when the cow was bred, time vary a lot,

As for light meat colour and fine texture and soft bones, yes calf moose that age are exactly that way ! The meat resembles beef veal yes, it is basically moose veal

You got yourself a veal,

Yep. One of those extra late calves, probably the first one for the cow. Very high mortality for those little guys, often get hit on the roads because they can't handle the snow.

Good animal to take. Congrats to the hunter!

[calgarychef]

The clincher you mentioned was the marrow being a gelly. Sure sign of starvation, the body absorbes nutrients from the marrow, I've seen it before butchering an animal that had been wounded earlier and couldn't feed.

That Moose would have been dead in a few days. You'll find that the muscles are wasted away and really it won't have much meat at all. I wouldn't eat it myself unless I was starving too.

[sjemac]

The clincher you mentioned was the marrow being a gelly. Sure sign of starvation, the body absorbes nutrients from the marrow, I've seen it before butchering an animal that had been wounded earlier and couldn't feed.

That Moose would have been dead in a few days. You'll find that the muscles are wasted away and really it won't have much meat at all. I wouldn't eat it myself unless I was starving too.

The backstraps were almost nonexistent but the rest was fine. Very tender and mild tasting.