INFORMING, ENCOURGING SAFTEY, AND HEIGHTENING MOOSE AWARENESS

Documenting the bizarre relationship between moose and pheasants, NDMC Home Page took a candid look at these two species and their ongoing rivalry.

Sadly, after years of informing the public, encouraging safety, and raising moose awareness, our Home Page has signed off-line and closed its doors. As the archives of the NDMC, we strive to follow the same tradition as our original web site and continue to bring you more of their findings whenever possible. The NDMC Home Page was North Dakota's first site dedicated to Moose Country and was an online guide inside the world of the moose. The NDMC Home Page studied friends and foes of the moose in the wild, moose's behavioral traits, rules when encountering a moose, and the diet of moose. Here are just a few topics once discussed on their message boards: • The Funny Thing About Moose • Moose and Pheasants • Moose Encounters • Moose shivers • The 3 R's

The Archives will try its hardest to pick up where our Home Page left off, but it will not be an easy task. Researchers at the NDMC-HP were extremely dedicated in carrying out their 3 goals of Informing, Encouraging Safety, and Heightening Moose Awareness...which became their slogan. NDMC : History and Home Page The mid '90s were a difficult time for Moose Country. Even with computers, tracking devices, and other high tech instruments, finding something new in the behavior of moose became extremely difficult. This was one of the first signs that NDMC was in dire straits. Nevertheless, our researchers roamed the hills, collected hair and stool samples, and warned campers and hikers about the dangers of approaching moose. A new discovery came in early 1998 which led to a series of new findings. Moose hair collected just outside of Fargo showed that the samples did not fall out naturally; the strands were damaged, as if they were plucked out. Weeks later, an observation from the field led to the discovery of a small flock of pheasants circling a wandering moose. At first, the moose ignored the pheasants, even with 6 to 8 perching on his back. One by one, the pheasants would begin to pull out small sections of fur, fly off, return and continue the pattern. Eventually, the enraged moose would attempt to bite and/or shake off the birds while sustaining quite a bit of hair loss. Those at NDMC believe that the pheasants were simply trying to build a nest and not trying to harm the moose. Due to these events, researchers also witnessed a behavioral trait that was once dismissed- moose shivers. Moose shivers tend to occur when a moose "thinks" pheasants are perched on his back, plucking and biting. The confused moose will spastically bite himself, accompanied with a loud guttural howl while running through shrubbery, trying to rid itself of the non-existent pheasants. On other occasions, moose have been seen lying on their backs with their legs pointed straight towards the sky, showing very little movement. With all these new discoveries, a web site was most definitely needed, and in 2000, the NDMC Home Page was born. Although short lived, it was where NDMC could spread the news of their findings plus give people a forum to discuss their own encounters with moose. To the dismay of NDMC, the site was an utter failure and was not renewed after its 2nd year. In the end, the good people at our home page felt they had ultimately succeeded in carrying out their goals, which led to their decision to call it quits.