# Moose scarred at birth



## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Moose scarred at birth

http://www.anchoragepress.com/archives-2004/flashlightvol13ed5.shtml

Spotting a moose strolling sidewalks in Midtown is nothing new. So what kind of moose does it take to make headlines in a town where they are as common as Bennifer breakups? A really ugly moose. A moose called Knobby.

Most moose lose their antlers in winter and grow them back bigger than ever in the summer. But Knobby is different. He doesn't lose his antlers, at least not in the three years area biologist Rick Sinnott has known him.

Sinnott is wellknown for tracking wildlife around Anchorage for the state Fish and Game Department. He regularly gets calls about Knobby: Dude, what's up with that moose's antlers? Flashlight, too, wondered what the deal was when we saw Knobby strolling along Benson Boulevard recently. Knobby's antlers look like they've mutated. 

Sinnott told us that Knobby's odd antlers are due to a testosterone issue - a hormone deficiency that was most likely caused by a birth defect. Knobby's condition, sometimes called Peruke Head, can also be caused by old age, which lowers testosterone, or by accidental castration. But Sinnott is pretty sure the moose is only about four or five years old, and Knobby still has his knob.

Normally, when moose start growing back their antlers in summer, the antlers are covered in a velvet-like skin and are very fragile. When the antlers reach full size for the year and it's time for the rut, they harden and lose the skin.

Knobby's antlers have grown little by little every year, but they're severely deformed. His lack of testosterone means he doesn't have a trigger to tell his antlers when to fall off and when to harden. His antlers are continually soft. As Knobby trots around the city, he's constantly damaging them. Layers of scar tissue have grown over his injured antlers. They look like big, squishy knobs, hence his name. 

Sinnott said Knobby is probably in pain - his antlers are probably very tender - although wildlife scientists don't know much about the sensitivity of antlers. The deprived moose might also suffer discomfort because one side of Knobby's rack is more damaged, covered with more scar tissue and heavier than the other. His head is often tilted to one side, probably giving him a helluva pain in the neck.

If there is any good news in all of this it's that Knobby will likely never pass his defect on to offspring. It's unlikely Knobby would win a fight with another bull with healthy antlers, a victory he would have to pull off for the right to conceive with a female moose. Also, Sinnott said, Knobby's lack of testosterone means he doesn't have much interest in the opposite sex.

There is one advantage to being Knobby. While most bulls don't eat during the rut because they are, shall we say, preoccupied, Knobby keeps a healthy appetite throughout the year. Knobby is fat because he doesn't get involved with that whole thing, Sinnott said.
- Monica Bradbury


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## SALMONATOR (Jan 7, 2003)

Wierd.

Knobby









Al


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