What Does Moose Sound Like?

Whether a new or seasoned hunter, you may have come across some sounds that left you wondering whether they were moose sound. Moose do indeed produce different sounds and probably what you heard was coming from one.  In this article, therefore, we look at various sounds that moose make. 

Research has found that moose can produce several sounds, linked to specific occasions and emotions.  For example, when they come across others of their kind, you will hear them whining.  This is a sound used as a friendly way of greeting or attracting other animals and mostly produced by the cows.  

Moose are found in various Northern parts of North America and Eurasia. 

Moose Sounds

Female Moose Sounds

What Does Whining Sound Like?

It is a low sound that the cows make without opening their mouth. Cows produce this sound to bring in close hung-up bulls. You will hear the cow using this sound when the estrus is high, and also it will make the sound if it is unsuccessful in enticing a bull. Usually, it comes in three or two-shot parts: “errh,” “err,” and “errah.”  The sound may take two to three seconds.  Check out this YouTube Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdTg-LOokes

How to Imitate Moose Whining Sound?

If you want to imitate the call’s sound, you whine when your mouth is almost closed as if you are humming.  But you have to make the” r” the base.

How Does the Sound of a Cow Communicating with Young Ones Sound Like?

Most times, a cow will use different sounds at different times. An example is when a cow is communicating with a calf, in most cases, they use low grunts. 

The low grunt sounds like “errrh.”  When you are practicing to produce the sound, you start with the pitch sound “r.”  To get the nasal twang sound, you need the following.  The tongue should be rolled back so that it touches the roof of your mouth and says the letter.  

The next step would be to cup your hands around the mouth in a calling position and, from the bottom, plug off the nostrils with your index fingers.  With the tongue rolled, say the letter” r”; the tongue should remain in the same place.   There will be a difference in nasal sounds. The “r” sound will sound “rrrrh.”  This is the fundamental pitch and tone of cows. 

To make the above sound a communication grunt, push the diaphragm and the lungs to eject the sound by a quick pull of the stomach muscles.  If you make the sound correctly, you will make a similar sound as:” errrh.”   The sounds are soft versions used to call cows, and the louder version is used to stop running bull.  Seldom do the sounds exceed one second.

What Do the Moose Cows Sound Like During the Rut?

During the rut season, which starts towards the end of August, cows produce longer calls to attract bulls.  The call is made by merely extending the sound of the communication grunt and a basic call sound as an “errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrah” sound.  The sound is produced by controlling the stomach muscles’ and pressure put on against the diaphragm.  Usually, it is 8 to 10 seconds.

When a cow is on heat, it doesn’t repeat the same call over and over; they usually combine calls of different sequences and lengths.  The sequence is as follows: single calls, two parts, three parts, four-part in random arrangements. 

To imitate the calls, start with a 2-to-3 seconds call followed by 6-to 8 seconds call, 4-5 second call, and end with a 2-second call ran together. Try it like a cow taking breaths between individual parts. “Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrahh.” short gasp. “Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrahh.” And also small breath “Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrahh.” and “Eerrrrrrrrrrahh.”

What Do the Sounds of a Moose Bull Sound Like?

 In most cases,   you will hear a moose bull grunt when in search of a lonely cow or when challenging other bulls. These grunts have an “ooooh” sound. Think of a long “o,” like open. The second grunt you will hear is the “oou-wah,” and will merge with “oou” and “wah.” The 3rd is the “errr-oough,” conjoining “errr” and “oough.” And the last sound is the “err-aah,” merging “err” and “aah.”

For you to yield these sounds, you will have to pull the abdominal muscles to force the diaphragm therefore force the lungs to make a sharp sound.  Hunters use this sound to draw a bull away from a cow and when they want the bull to come nearly to them. 

For the male and female (bull and cow), they communicate during the mating period. The cow entices the bull with a nasal-toned bawling while the bull responds with a coughing bellow.

How Do Young Moose Sound Like?

 Newborn calf makes a low grunt. A few days later, the calf develops and starts to have a strident wail that sounds like a human being.   

How Does an Angry Moose Call Sound Like?

When moose are in an angry mood, especially when they are challenging each other to win cows, and also when they are responding to calls, they do so by producing deep short grunts at intervals of 2 to 3 seconds.   The grunts range from hiccups to explosive coughing sounds. To imitate the angry bull sounds, short “U” or “Ugh”!!  and “Ugh”!! is the easiest way to imitate them. 

Warning:  if you want to imitate an angry bull moose you should be very careful since it can easily attack you. Remember, moose are very aggressive.

How Does a Moose Warning Call Sound Like?

When moose are in danger, for example, when you corner them, or a cow can’t trace a calf, they produce a growling noise.   A growl is a low guttural aggressive sound which goes like,”grrrrrrrr.” It is not a warm sound and is similar to the sound a dog makes when you get close.  A rumbling growl means you “back off!” This is a warning call and can be heard as far as a half a mile away.  When you hear this sound, know it is a warning sound, and a bull can come for the rescue or harm you.

Imitating Moose Sounds

Hunters and photographers use several sounds to call a moose. They can make a grunt call, imitate the moose cow, or even make a combination of both.  Unlike other animals such as deer, which move in a number, these animals don’t and you will only see them when looking for breeding partners during the rut, and seasoned hunters have learned many things that help them to attract the bulls. 

When hunters go out to hunt moose, they produce sounds that resonate that of a cone-shaped call. When you plan to hunt the moose, you can purchase birch bark cones or make your own. The duel’s mega or 2-in-1 moose call is an example of the commercialized moose calls. How do you make the calls? The use of a birch tree produces it. 

The hunter gets a straight birch tree with a diameter of about 5 to 8 inches.  They make two horizontal cuts, one about 18 inches above the other, and cut around the tree.  The two cuts are connected using a vertical cut. Canadian hunters highly prefer the birchbark moose calling technique, and very few of the Alaskans have discovered this method’s use. 

Check out this YouTube video

To imitate the moose and have them respond to the call effectively, you must be in a place where they will respond. If you are in Alaska, you can use birch bark during the autumn season, which usually starts towards the last week of September until the end of October. Still, it usually depends on the current weather conditions and also the timing of the rut. 

Use of a Combination of Visual and Sounds to Imitate Moose

Other things that hunters do to attract Bull Moose are decoys and realism.  At times they make a combination of the two, but the bulls are reluctant to come in. Therefore, they combine vocalizations and visual stimuli, such as one or two cow moose decoys, and add realism.

Conclusion 

For your call to be compelling, you need to mimic moose vocalization from a suitable position to attract the bull.  After you make the call and you don’t hear a response immediately, be patient. 

To select your calling locations, you need to stand in a strategic position. Moose leave many marks during the rut.  Seasoned hunters know this and they normally pay close attention to them, e.g. tracks, fresh rubs, and rut pits are some of the most significant indicators.

When you make the sounds and get a response from a reluctant bull. What hunters do is add some aggression routines that make the bull think that he has a completion.  It would even serve you better if you can produce low aggressive grunts routines while pretending you are a young bull and try raking bushes with the scapula. This brings in a hung-up bull moose.