Also please see https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/milewski/69307-a-new-observation-on-maternal-defensive-behaviour-in-the-moose-alces-alces#
When the Dutch landed in South Africa in the late seventeenth century, they found the strange bovid, Taurotragus oryx, to be so similar to the familiar cervid, Alces alces, that they used the same name.
'Eland' is the Dutch word for Alces alces alces (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?taxon_id=852458), which was originally indigenous to the Netherlands.
This adoption of a misnomer - which has persisted for nearly four centuries - is understandable, because both species
In this Post, I compare A. alces with T. oryx with respect to postures and gaits, in light of the profound differences in their habitats and niches.
LYING
Both species rest in sternal recumbency (https://bestofthetetons.com/2014/11/18/resting-moose-a-collection-of-less-seen-lifestyle-images/ and https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/eland-lying-down.html?sortBy=relevant).
KNEELING
A major difference is that A. alces kneels readily at all ages (https://www.azotelibrary.com/en/image/a-moose-%28alces-alces%29-kneels-to-eat-grass-in-a-meadow-in-s%C3%B6dermanland/191539), whereas T. oryx seems never to kneel (apart from transitorily when lying down in sternal recumbency, or arising from such lying, https://www.bestofthetetons.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/RestingMoose_GettingUpSequence1400px.jpg and https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/eland-antelope-rising-grass-savannah-green-2247874629).
When drinking, T. oryx sometimes spreads its forelegs to some degree, in partial emulation of Giraffa (https://www.alamy.com/giraffe-and-elands-at-a-waterhole-area-etosha-national-park-namibia-africa-image415771067.html?imageid=16AC8853-6C1A-4753-BFF4-3ABEAFFEE8E7&p=1364503&pn=1&searchId=c841ad5a0499198295bbf8dbec6d6cc6&searchtype=0 and https://africageographic.com/stories/eland/ and https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/vertical-photo-of-huge-eland-antelopetaurotragus-oryx-standing-under-angolan-giraffe-drinking-from-waterhole-animals--664492120013532545/ and https://www.sciencephoto.com/media/389750/view/eland-antelope-drinking and https://fineartamerica.com/featured/eland-antelope-drinking-tony-camachoscience-photo-library.html?product=wood-print and https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-eland-drinking-at-waterhole-etosha-namibia-19949416.html and https://www.gettyimages.ae/detail/photo/common-eland-drinking-at-chudop-waterhole-etosha-royalty-free-image/1032889546).
I have yet to see a similar posture in A. alces - which instead kneels in such situations.
When sparring or fighting in masculine rivalry, neither species routinely kneels (https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/common-eland-taurotragus-oryx-male-fight-2255105889). In the case of T. oryx, I have yet to see evidence of any kneeling at all.
There are many photos on the Web of A. alces in kneeling posture (please see examples at the end of this Post).
JUMPING
Alces alces can jump 2 m high, whereas T. oryx can jump 3 m high (https://naloolo.wordpress.com/2018/03/11/jumped-over-by-an-eland/).
The former species is a capable jumper, in line with other cervids. However, the latter is a remarkable jumper indeed. This is the converse of what might be predicted based on the length of the legs.
STOTTING
Alces alces is not known to stot. However, it is possible that, when it trots with particularly high steps (https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/young-bull-moose-running-across-stubble-field-gm491959369-40066416?phrase=elk+running+snow), this may be a demonstration of fitness, analogous to the proud-trotting of certain other ruminants.
Also deserving further scrutiny is the juvenile 'play-trotting', while wading, seen in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVPfRQjDPBE.
By contrast, T. oryx has often been photographed 'stotting', in a way different from most other bovids. Instead of bouncing stiff-legged, individuals leap randomly, and seemingly pointlessly, while galloping in alarm in a group (https://twitter.com/Min_TourismKE/status/720195243241578496/photo/2 and https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/zooniverse/snapshot-serengeti/talk/1485/912470 and https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-africa-kenya-masai-mara-motion-blur-of-eland-jumping-through-grass-32822773.html?imageid=B09244FD-293E-4CD1-B166-556A9E4CB550&p=95453&pn=1&searchId=6101ba2c62ae717283a6f3f1f002323c&searchtype=0 and https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-eland-taurotragus-oryx-herd-running-laikpia-kenya-125584865.html?imageid=2DF7F368-4CD7-498D-97F8-AF1C2B837801&p=361664&pn=1&searchId=010f32aaa73c04f1f11960177dc59d66&searchtype=0). This may function similarly to stotting, in demonstrating individual fitness to potential predators.
BIPEDALITY
Alces alces sometimes stands bipedally, both to forage (https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Feot6wzys7i981.jpg) and to quarrel (https://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/video/cow-moose-standing-up-on-their-hind-legs-and-fighting-in-stock-footage/460383460 and scroll in https://www.canadiannaturephotographer.com/Joe_Desjardins.html).
By contrast, T. oryx - as far as I know - never uses any bipedal posture except transitorily (for a split-second) by males in copulation (https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-common-elands-mating-pair-taurotragus-oryx-amakhala-game-reserve-eastern-cape-south-africa-image51205440). Even in copulation, males support their weight on the females (https://www.agefotostock.com/age/en/details-photo/a-pair-of-common-elands-taurotragus-oryx-mating-in-the-amakhala-game-reserve-eastern-cape-south-africa/ESY-026334176).
Taurotragus oryx compensates for its inability to stand bipedally, by breaking branches with its horns (https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=tqe_qvUX43k). Alces alces also breaks woody stems while foraging, but does so by
FORAGING NEAR GROUND LEVEL WITHOUT KNEELING
Both A. alces and T. oryx are capable of foraging, without kneeling, on terrestrial plants lower than 20 cm above ground level. This is because the former combines a short neck with a long muzzle, whereas the latter combines a relatively long neck with a relatively short muzzle.
However, foraging in this way is easier for T. oryx than for A. alces, the former grazing as a staple part of its foraging (short green grass during the rainy season), whereas the latter seldom grazes. The neck of A. alces is so proportionately short that the length of the muzzle does not quite compensate.
Thus the shoulders and elbows are more flexed in an awkward posture in the case of A. alces, with the humerus approaching the horizontal (https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/moose-alces-alces-19 and https://unsplash.com/photos/tLUKrYFh4-w and https://pixels.com/featured/bull-moose-in-velvet-grazing-edie-ann-mendenhall.html and https://www.123rf.com/photo_6921276_bull-moose-grazing.html and https://www.agefotostock.com/age/en/details-photo/alaska-moose-grazing-in-tundra-male-moose-in-green-tundra-grazing-alaska/MEV-12905729).
By contrast, T. oryx appears more at ease when grazing.
To reach ground level itself with the mouth, the two species differ categorically. Alces alces is incapable of doing so without kneeling, whereas T. oryx does so by flexing the shoulders and elbows slightly (https://www.alamy.com/cape-eland-grazing-at-de-hoop-national-reserve-cape-overberg-south-image9879753.html?imageid=43081444-5267-444D-BC18-39F285FC4BCE&p=6945&pn=1&searchId=bebe53939638886546a1f3e44729a7e9&searchtype=0 and https://www.alamy.com/eland-taurotragus-oryx-de-hoop-nature-reserve-western-cape-south-africa-image399153412.html?imageid=B11E5FBA-723B-4A35-8CD5-F15BD837EF7F&p=12455&pn=2&searchId=5cd2bf43ed0e0cf1d243f5a9906dcb64&searchtype=0).
WALKING
Alces alces and T. oryx walk with identical gaits. This is a semi cross-walk, not an amble or a semi amble.
Semi cross-walking is typical of ungulates dependent on cover, whereas semi ambling is typical of gregarious ungulates adapted to open environments. Alces alces is more cover-dependent than T. oryx. The former is odd among long-legged ungulates, in semi cross-walking, whereas the latter is odd among 'plains game', in semi cross-walking.
It is unsurprising that A. alces cross-walks when walking backwards (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5eY7kVsLQA).
The following show the semi cross-walk of A. alces. Please note that, by the time that the fore is about to be placed, the hind has already been lifted, for long enough for the lower leg to have reached the vertical.
https://a57.foxnews.com/global.fncstatic.com/static/managed/img/fn2/video/876/493/edge_moose_052014.jpg?ve=1&tl=1
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/bull-moose-gm1055977806-282201912
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/walking-bull-moose-randy-straka.html
https://www.alamy.com/bull-moose-denali-national-park-preserve-alaska-united-states-of-america-a-unique-optimised-version-of-an-image-by-nps-ranger-jw-frank-credit-npsjacob-w-frank-image454466690.html?imageid=DC229BEB-798B-4807-AFC7-245D832C911F&p=1837101&pn=1&searchId=acbc6be48e9684687a1dabcb59018a60&searchtype=0
https://pixels.com/featured/bull-moose-crossing-river-jack-bell.html?product=wood-print
The following, correspondingly, show the semi cross-walk of T. oryx.
https://www.kimballstock.com/popuppreview.asp?db=a&image=AFW+36+MH0004+01&itemw=4&itemf=0001&itemstep=1&itemx=1
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/young-eland-walking-on-the-skyline-gm670061476-122489693
https://www.alamy.com/common-or-southern-eland-taurotragus-oryx-de-hoop-nature-reserve-western-cape-south-africa-image555774369.html?imageid=B8DBE331-4F0A-4C2E-9AA5-68B247944D26&p=824482&pn=1&searchId=bebe53939638886546a1f3e44729a7e9&searchtype=0
The following, of Alcelaphus caama, shows the difference between the semi cross-walk of tragelaphins (including T. oryx) and the semi amble of alcelaphins (including hartebeests). The hind hoof is lifted only once the fore hoof has touched the ground.
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/wild-red-hartebeest-during-the-summer-in-beautiful-pilanesberg-national-park-south-gm1358864733-432370852?phrase=hartebeest
The following shows that Camelus dromedarius, although similar to A. alces in the proportional length of the legs, is similar in walking gait to alcelaphins, and different from A. alces.
https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/photo/side-view-of-camel-walking-royalty-free-image/1146381538
TROTTING
Both species trot, as their preferred gait in running (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxTsf51vqmE and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-PA5qsOjBg).
Alces alces can trot with a high-stepping style, allowing it
Because its legs are so long, its speed while trotting corresponds to the cantering gait of other ruminants of similar body mass.
For its part, T. oryx is remarkable in that it trots even when in immediate danger from predators (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8349694/ and https://thegreatestmaasaimara.com/?competition_data=cheetah-hunting-eland).
CANTERING
I have yet to see evidence that either A. alces and T. oryx ever canter.
GALLOPING
Both species are capable of galloping for limited distances.
Alces alces:
!https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=XlcypwnGcjQ
https://www.facebook.com/fox13seattle/videos/snowboarders-film-moose-running-alongside-them-down-mountain/10156033272534199/?locale=ms_MY
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-galloping-moose-on-the-run-39492457.html?imageid=5350CBC7-C4B1-4B9A-9B64-6D290EE4B904&p=34828&pn=1&searchId=9980e653e8ba1e2c918d82ab21cc4bd3&searchtype=0
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-galloping-moose-on-the-run-39492473.html?imageid=33DB1C68-DD8A-4C00-AD3B-DC32CDCC8420&p=34828&pn=1&searchId=9980e653e8ba1e2c918d82ab21cc4bd3&searchtype=0
https://www.alamy.com/eurasian-elk-alces-alces-alces-galloping-jaemtland-or-jamtland-sweden-image61916611.html?imageid=3BC9868E-A8B6-4863-99A7-6C3CC44A4B4A&p=75026&pn=1&searchId=9980e653e8ba1e2c918d82ab21cc4bd3&searchtype=0
Taurotragus oryx:
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-cape-eland-running-through-the-golden-grasses-of-the-open-serengeti-23833726.html?imageid=ED4E0569-531B-4524-BA79-6BD1B4DFE2A1&p=17446&pn=1&searchId=010f32aaa73c04f1f11960177dc59d66&searchtype=0
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-cape-eland-running-through-the-golden-grasses-of-the-open-serengeti-23832589.html?imageid=17B542F1-E9D2-4E86-826E-EF7E8C5BB3F9&p=17446&pn=1&searchId=010f32aaa73c04f1f11960177dc59d66&searchtype=0
https://www.alamy.com/eland-running-taurotragus-oryx-masai-mara-kenya-image181597557.html?imageid=B8F85DBD-7D48-4E42-9140-A35A91064D77&p=738418&pn=1&searchId=010f32aaa73c04f1f11960177dc59d66&searchtype=0
https://www.alamy.com/eland-taurotragus-oryx-masai-mara-kenya-image181635085.html?imageid=BA59C0DA-E616-4513-896B-D62F229A744A&p=738418&pn=1&searchId=010f32aaa73c04f1f11960177dc59d66&searchtype=0
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-eland-taurotragus-oryx-pair-running-through-spring-flowers-west-coast-125584310.html?imageid=86EB619E-ADDE-42BF-A3F5-11AD3FF7BAD5&p=361664&pn=1&searchId=010f32aaa73c04f1f11960177dc59d66&searchtype=0
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-eland-taurotragus-oryx-pair-running-through-spring-flowers-west-coast-125584310.html?imageid=86EB619E-ADDE-42BF-A3F5-11AD3FF7BAD5&p=361664&pn=1&searchId=010f32aaa73c04f1f11960177dc59d66&searchtype=
SWIMMING
Alces alces is one of the most proficient swimmers among ruminants (https://northernontario.ctvnews.ca/northern-ont-logging-crew-rescues-moose-that-fell-through-the-ice-1.5774814). It swims extremely rapidly, with endurance, and it can dive so deep while foraging that it disappears completely below the surface.
This is consistent with its foraging niche, which combines browsing on the foliage of trees and shrubs with holding its breath and submerging its head for aquatic algae and herbaceous plants.
By contrast, T. oryx has - as far as I know - never been recorded either swimming or foraging in wetlands. It is probably capable of swimming, given that its tragelaphin relatives are known to be capable swimmers. However, T. oryx
- is generally associated with dry climates,
- tends to avoid the dense vegetation near rivers, and
- is not known to take refuge in water when pursued by predators.
DISCUSSION
Estes (1991, page 190) states:
"Elands only gallop when badly frightened (or playing) and if pursued quickly tire...a trot...is the eland's fastest gait under usual conditions; it can trot at a rate of 35 kph for several kilometres, or much further at a slower rate...Is it the eland's bulk that makes it slow, or is it simply a tragelaphine trait the eland has been unable to change in adapting to open habitats? Cows are not particularly bulky and certainly calves not at all, yet both are slower than other plains antelopes. The fact that elands, like their closest relation, the kudu, are incredible high jumpers is also against the bulk argument. Fleeing elands often display their prowess...by jumping effortlessly right over a neighbor, and youngsters can sail over a 3 m fence from a standing jump".
ILLUSTRATIONS OF ALCES ALCES IN KNEELING POSTURES
https://gf.nd.gov/magazine/2020/feb/kneeling-moose
https://www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/18675993910
https://stock.adobe.com/images/kneeling-moose/210074588
https://www.alamy.com/a-cow-moose-feeding-on-some-green-grass-image3090710.html?imageid=E08948EE-59AF-47DF-A106-73F150DEC73A&p=166893&pn=1&searchId=f41a66b0ac6853a16f070809256f1de5&searchtype=0
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/46888551
http://www.silencelikethunder.com/kneeling-moose.html
https://www.reddit.com/r/alaska/comments/hhwh1k/moose_kneeling_to_eat_in_my_side_yard/
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/moose-kneeling-to-eat-green-grass-gm859156154-142020203
https://www.alamy.com/young-moose-kneeling-on-hydroseed-by-the-dalton-highway-alaska-usa-image64756672.html?imageid=8F50A8CE-928B-4673-B30E-7C7E4BBC53F3&p=410512&pn=1&searchId=f41a66b0ac6853a16f070809256f1de5&searchtype=0
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-a-moose-calf-alces-alces-kneels-down-at-the-edge-of-an-alpine-lake-74641850.html?imageid=29A2FE7B-09EA-4EAB-A517-109459C96FF7&p=95964&pn=1&searchId=f41a66b0ac6853a16f070809256f1de5&searchtype=0
https://www.alamy.com/moose-calf-alves-alces-7-months-old-eating-salt-a-winter-road-canadian-image69996792.html?imageid=FE4806B9-BF29-401F-A10B-E4115B5B7C1D&p=59158&pn=1&searchId=f41a66b0ac6853a16f070809256f1de5&searchtype=0
https://www.alamy.com/young-moose-alces-alces-knelt-down-in-the-snow-to-find-something-to-eat-under-the-snow-in-a-winter-forest-in-jasper-national-park-alberta-canada-image474327976.html?imageid=DAB34431-8F10-484A-BA1D-13BB0D1F2A03&p=1919126&pn=1&searchId=f41a66b0ac6853a16f070809256f1de5&searchtype=0
https://www.alamy.com/moose-kneeling-to-feed-in-the-tobacco-root-mountains-near-pony-montana-image352238058.html?imageid=FF67D5E5-0350-4CDC-8EF5-7E1A1CC4D733&p=276006&pn=1&searchId=f41a66b0ac6853a16f070809256f1de5&searchtype=0
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-moose-alces-alces-andersoni-female-drinking-water-from-rain-puddle-125484232.html?imageid=7824FF3A-4599-4DCC-9DA6-AB7A49C0165E&p=360440&pn=1&searchId=f41a66b0ac6853a16f070809256f1de5&searchtype=0
https://www.alamy.com/young-moose-alces-alces-knelt-down-in-the-snow-to-find-something-to-eat-under-the-snow-in-a-winter-forest-in-jasper-national-park-alberta-canada-image474327965.html?imageid=C37D7E77-FF41-44D4-9C8C-32020E16AC21&p=1919126&pn=1&searchId=f41a66b0ac6853a16f070809256f1de5&searchtype=0
https://www.alamy.com/moose-alces-alces-male-moose-are-often-drawn-to-roadways-to-lick-salt-image69999204.html?imageid=5474D900-E733-4966-9160-6E6AD61C134F&p=50550&pn=1&searchId=f41a66b0ac6853a16f070809256f1de5&searchtype=0
https://www.alamy.com/young-moose-alces-alces-knelt-down-in-the-snow-to-find-something-to-eat-under-the-snow-in-a-winter-forest-in-jasper-national-park-alberta-canada-image474328021.html?imageid=910E7752-B40A-4BF1-A556-4B77D102479F&p=1919126&pn=1&searchId=f41a66b0ac6853a16f070809256f1de5&searchtype=0
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-usa-alaska-anchorage-tony-knowles-coastal-trail-moose-alces-alces-56144129.html?imageid=E294BB6C-4A5F-4C11-BB4F-E0CCF23F1A1F&p=173642&pn=1&searchId=f41a66b0ac6853a16f070809256f1de5&searchtype=0
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=Eland+bulls+fighting&sca_esv=568362559&sxsrf=AM9HkKlgG-AUfAcw_VbOYYgCRYuv81AY2w%3A1695692872768&source=hp&ei=SDgSZfTzLLXMseMPp9y1mAk&iflsig=AO6bgOgAAAAAZRJGWCnf_rbtFmhUhTBCL4oux5QgVTD9&ved=0ahUKEwj0t8-alMeBAxU1ZmwGHSduDZMQ4dUDCAs&uact=5&oq=Eland+bulls+fighting&gs_lp=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&sclient=gws-wiz#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:83ad2e84,vid:Jbt6128kpV8,st:0
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=Eland+bulls+fighting&sca_esv=568362559&sxsrf=AM9HkKlgG-AUfAcw_VbOYYgCRYuv81AY2w%3A1695692872768&source=hp&ei=SDgSZfTzLLXMseMPp9y1mAk&iflsig=AO6bgOgAAAAAZRJGWCnf_rbtFmhUhTBCL4oux5QgVTD9&ved=0ahUKEwj0t8-alMeBAxU1ZmwGHSduDZMQ4dUDCAs&uact=5&oq=Eland+bulls+fighting&gs_lp=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&sclient=gws-wiz#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:bb143a2b,vid:MvqsSR9_xaY,st:0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4-39sCnsTs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M26ug8MGYlY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRDdedOQz6g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfLe5rswtFE
