Kostroma Moose Farm
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Kostroma Moose Farm (russian: Костромска́я лосефе́рма) is an experimental farm in
Kostroma Oblast Kostroma Oblast (russian: Костромска́я о́бласть, ''Kostromskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Kostroma and its population as of the 2021 Census is 580,97 ...
,
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
, where a herd of
moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...
is kept, primarily for milk production; the farm supplies moose's milk to a nearby
sanitorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...
. It is located near the village of Sumarokovo in
Krasnoselsky District Krasnoselsky District is the name of several administrative and municipal districts in Russia. *Krasnoselsky District, Moscow, a district in Central Administrative Okrug of the federal city of Moscow * Krasnoselsky District, Saint Petersburg, an ...
of Kostroma Oblast, some 25 km east of the city of
Kostroma Kostroma ( rus, Кострома́, p=kəstrɐˈma) is a historic types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russia, Golden Ring of Russian cities, it is lo ...
.


Early history of the moose domestication

As early as 1869, the Russian zoologist and explorer
Alexander von Middendorff Alexander Theodor von Middendorff (russian: Алекса́ндр Фёдорович Ми́ддендорф; tr. ; 18 August 1815 – 24 January 1894) was a zoologist and explorer of Baltic German and Estonian extraction. He is known for his ex ...
wrote to the
Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...
's Government: The idea of the moose domestication did not get much traction in Tsarist Russia. However, it reappeared in the 1930s’
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
; it was suggested at the time that moose cavalry could be efficiently used even in the deep snow. In 1934, the Soviet Government's Nature Reserve Committee ordered creation of moose reserves (
zapovednik Zapovednik (russian: заповедник, plural , from the Russian , 'sacred, prohibited from disturbance, committed o protect committed o heritage; ) is an established term on the territory of the former Soviet Union for a protected area which ...
s) and moose breeding centers (лосиные питомники). Experimental work, initiated by Petr Alexandrovich Manteufel (Петр Александрович Мантейфель), took place at a number of locations: in
Yakutia Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia),, is the largest republic of Russia, located in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean, with a population of roughly 1 million. Sakha comprises half of the area of its governing Far E ...
, at the Serpukhov Experimental Game Farm, and in the Buzuluksy Bor Nature Reserve ( Бузулукский бор) in Orenburg Region. This experimental work included mounting pistols, spikes, and shields to the antlers of a moose, as well delegating moose labor to tasks of hauling cannons and long range artillery. However, the work was not finished in time for
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, and when the war came, the entire idea of cavalry as a combat force was swept away. After the war, the idea of domesticating the moose was pursued again, with the focus on agricultural use. It was thought that the moose, whose very name means ''twig eater'' in an Algonquian language, could provide an ideal way of improving the utilization of the biomass production potential of the
taiga Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruc ...
of northern and eastern Russia, which are not particularly suitable for either food crop planting or conventional animal husbandry. If the moose could be farmed, they could be provided with feed practically for free, utilizing the by-products of timber harvesting: tree branches and bark. The first experimental moose farm, led by Yevgeny Knorre, was launched in 1949 by the staff of the
Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve (russian: Печоро-Илычский заповедник, ''Pechoro-Ilychsky zapovednik'') is a Russian 'zapovednik' (strict nature reserve) in the Komi Republic, Russia. It currently occupies 7,213 square kilometer ...
, outside of the settlement of
Yaksha The yakshas ( sa, यक्ष ; pi, yakkha, i=yes) are a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness. They appear in ...
in the
Komi Republic The Komi Republic (russian: Республика Коми; kv, Коми Республика), sometimes simply referred to as Komi, is a republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. Its capital is the city of Syktyvkar. The population of th ...
. Rare photos from that period, one of a moose being ridden and one of a moose pulling a sledge, were included in the 1969 paper "Behavioural changes in elk in the process of its domestication" Research quickly showed that being penned in stalls is not conducive to moose biology; the animals' health would suffer in such conditions, possibly because of the lack of certain nutrients that the free-ranging animals can find in wild plants. Moreover, it would be very expensive to supply captive moose with suitable fodder, as the moose are picky eaters and will not eat branches thicker than some 10 mm (0.4 in) or so.


Later history

The more feasible technique, adopted first at Yaksha and later at Kostroma Moose Farm can be called "moose ranching". It is somewhat similar to the semi-domesticated
reindeer Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 sub ...
husbandry pursued by the people of the
tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless mou ...
, or the
sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...
herding of the steppes. During a large part of the year, the animals are allowed to roam free throughout the forest. They usually do not go too far, however, because they know the farm (or the winter camp, as the case may be) as the place to get their favorite foods and as a safe place to give birth to their young. The Kostroma moose give birth to their young in April or May. A farm-born moose calf is taken from its mother within 2–3 hours after birth and is raised by people. It is first bottle-fed with a
milk substitute A milk substitute is any substance that resembles milk and can be used in the same ways as milk. Such substances may be variously known as non-dairy beverage, nut milk, grain milk, legume milk, mock milk and alternative milk. For adults, milk ...
, and later fed from a bucket. The resulting imprinting effect makes the growing animal attached to people; the steamed
oats The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are suitable for human co ...
will remain one of its favorite foods for the rest of its life. In the meantime, the mother moose is being milked by the farm's milkmaids; due to a similar imprinting mechanism, the cow moose will soon recognize them as her "substitute children". At this point, it can be released to the forest; it will come back to the farm every day to be milked during the rest of her lactation period (typically, until September or October). In winter, the animals spend much time at the woodlots in the nearby forests where trees are being cut, feeding on the byproducts of timber operations. The abundant supply of forest foods, plus daily rations of oats and salted water keep them around the woodlot even without the fence. It was found early in the course of the moose domestication research that some animals are more attached to the farm than others. Therefore, it is hoped that a multi-generational selection program will result in breeding a domesticated variety of the moose. However, in the conditions of the existing moose farms the prospects of artificial selection are made somewhat difficult by the fact that in the free-range conditions farm moose cows often mate with wild moose bulls.


The Kostroma Farm

Kostroma Moose Farm, established in 1963 under the aegis of Kostroma Oblast Agricultural Research Station (), where the free-range moose ranching techniques described above are used. A Moose Husbandry Laboratory was created at the research station to coordinate research work conducted at the farm, both by the Kostroma zoologists and by researchers from Moscow and elsewhere. In 1985 the Moose Husbandry Laboratory was transferred from the Kostroma Agriculture Research Station to the Kostroma Forestry Research Station, and due to budgetary cuts was closed altogether in 1992. Also in 1985 the moose farm was transferred to the Kostroma Forestry Enterprise (). In these conditions the farm continued to operate, but more like a
petting zoo A petting zoo (also called a children's zoo, children's farm, or petting farm) features a combination of domesticated animals and some wild species that are docile enough to touch and feed. In addition to independent petting zoos, many genera ...
than a research facility. Resumption of the research work on the farm came only after January 2002 when the Moose Husbandry Laboratory was re-created, under the Kostroma Agricultural Research Institute and when in 2005 the Kostroma Moose Farm was transferred from the forestry enterprise to the Kostroma Oblast Natural Resources Committee. The main lines of farm's business are: * Milk production. The farm's livestock includes around 10-15 milk-producing moose cows. The milk, reported to be rich in vitamins and microelements and to be useful for the treatment of
peptic ulcer Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) is a break in the inner lining of the stomach, the first part of the small intestine, or sometimes the lower esophagus. An ulcer in the stomach is called a gastric ulcer, while one in the first part of the intestines ...
s, radiation lesions and some other conditions is supplied to the nearby Ivan Susanin Sanatorium. *Harvesting antler velvet. A bull moose grows a new pair of antlers every summer. Similar to the maral farms in
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
and
Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...
, moose antlers can be harvested while they are still soft and covered with velvet, which is used for the manufacture of certain pharmaceutical products. *Tourist attraction / novelty value. Although, as at any responsible animal husbandry establishment, access to the farm is strictly controlled by the management, organized tourist groups can visit the facility on tours arranged through the Kostroma Tourism Bureau. *Potentially, sales of farm-raised young animals to
zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoo ...
s and
safari park A safari park, sometimes known as a wildlife park, is a zoo-like commercial drive-in tourist attraction where visitors can drive their own vehicles or ride in vehicles provided by the facility to observe freely roaming animals. A safari park ...
s, wildlife reintroduction projects in areas that have lost their ''Alces'' populations, or to those who want to start new dairy moose farms. Researchers involved with the project emphasize that although much has been learned about the moose biology, and the techniques for semi-domesticated moose husbandry have been developed, raising animals like this is a not an easy affair. In the interests of the animals themselves, one should not try to enter this business without appropriate expertise, good capitalization, and access to a suitable
habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
. In particular, one is advised not to try to start a moose farm for meat production: the meat output will not cover the costs of production (which could be ten times as high as those of
beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantit ...
production), and, besides, free-range moose are not stupid, and they will not be coming back to the farm where their kin are being slaughtered. A couple of operators in
Yaroslavl Yaroslavl ( rus, Ярослáвль, p=jɪrɐˈsɫavlʲ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluenc ...
and
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (russian: link=no, Нижегородская область, ''Nizhegorodskaya oblast''), is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Nizhny Novgorod. It has a population of 3,310,5 ...
s went out of business trying to do this. The farm maintains the database of all animals that have ever been brought to the farm or born there. As of 2006, it listed 842 moose that have lived on the farm during its history. Over the first forty years of operation (1963–2003), 770 animals ended their stay at the farm in the following ways: Over the years, the herd size varied from 4 (in 1965) to 67 (in 1978). Over the period from 1972 to 1985 (when the milk production statistics are available), the number of milked moose cows on the farm increased from 3 to 16, the average number over the period being 11. Over those 13 years, 23,864 liters (around 6,000 gallons) of the milk had been produced.


Footnotes


External links

Sites and publications about the Kostroma Moose Farm
Kostroma Moose Farm
.
Russia's elk prove tough to tame
(
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, 22 March 2004)
Moose Milking
(
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
) (June 28, 2003)
"Moose Medicine"
(Photos; trip report)
Ivan Susanin Sanatorium (Санаторий имени Ивана Сусанина)
(official site)
A.V. Baranov, V.M. Dzhurovich, N.V. Sokolov. "The Achievements and Issues in Moose Domestication" (Баранов А.В., Джурович В.М., Соколов Н.В., "Достижения и задачи по одомашниванию лося")
The Moose Husbandry Laboratory page at the official site of
Kostroma Kostroma ( rus, Кострома́, p=kəstrɐˈma) is a historic types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russia, Golden Ring of Russian cities, it is lo ...
Agricultural Research Institute. (Костромской научно-исследовательский институт сельского хозяйства. Лаборатория лосеводства) {{in lang, ru Some research articles based on the work at Kostroma Moose Farm:
Ekaterina M. Bogomolova, Yuriy A. Kurochkin. "The systems organization of the breeding behavior of the moose in its natural habitat"
''Uspekhi Fiziologicheskikh Nauk''. 1995 Oct-Dec;26(4):48-74.
Ekaterina M. Bogomolova, Yuriy A. Kurochkin. "Parturition activity of moose"
'' Alces'' Supplement 2: pp. 27–31 (2002)
Ekaterina M. Bogomolova, Yuriy A. Kurochkin, Alexander N. Minaev. "Home ranges and migrations of the Kostroma farm moose"
'' Alces'' Supplement 2: pp. 33–36 (2002)
Ekaterina M. Bogomolova, Yuriy A. Kurochkin, Alexander N. Minaev. "The study of moose behavior on the Kostroma moose farm"
'' Alces'' Supplement 2: pp. 37–40 (2002)
Alexander N. Minaev. "Use of telemetry to study behavior of domesticated moose"
'' Alces'' Supplement 2: pp. 89–92 (2002) Buildings and structures in Kostroma Oblast Farms in Russia Agricultural organizations based in the Soviet Union Experimental farms