Caribou vs Moose chop meat

[Short Track]

Comparing side by side. My bull Caribou, vs a big Cow Moose. The bull caribou has more fat in the chop meat than the cow Moose. Same butcher in Newfoundland.

I would have thought any buck in the species would have less fat than any cow. Therefor Caribou are fattier than Moose. I'm very surprised.

 

[Kevin Dill]

Comparing side by side. My bull Caribou, vs a big Cow Moose. The bull caribou has more fat in the chop meat than the cow Moose. Same butcher in Newfoundland.

I would have thought any buck in the species would have less fat than any cow. Therefor Caribou are fattier than Moose. I'm very surprised.

Not argumentative, and only offered for perspective:

It might be more correct to say 'My caribou was fattier than my moose'...and then wonder why.

And maybe they are indeed, but biology would have the reasons if so. One potential explanation for a bull carrying more fat (and a cow carrying less) might be if the cow had been supporting a calf, whether or not the calf was in evidence at the time the cow was taken. Bulls simply spend the spring, summer and early fall months eating and looking after themselves in more sedentary fashion. Another factor might be browse quality in a given region or season.

I've shot bull moose which had thick tallow on their backs and rumps. Some of their fat is carried in the mesentery, as is the same with many deer species. I have yet to shoot a caribou or moose which had actual fat accumulations ('marbling') within the muscle groups. That seems to be much more characteristic in bovine species. As a generally recognized rule, the deer species don't develop marbling ever, but may have some 'cover fat' overlaying certain muscle areas. This is one reason why fat deposits are sometimes carefully salvaged from kills...because the muscle contains so little of it.

KD

 

[Trial153]

Comparing fat in ground meat makes zero sense. You have no idea if they both were trimmed the same way before they were ground. It literally tells you nothing about the difference between the two animals.

 

[Short Track]

It was the same butcher. So I assume their process is pretty much the same.
All I can add: My caribou was pre-rut, and definitely fat with a packed stomach.
My Cow Moose was post rut, but she was so old, that maybe she was past her prime in calving.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

The correct answer to this little quiz is, “not enough information.”

 

[Larry Bartlett]

Ungulates are like people. Some are skinny and some are fat. Even within their own families, phenotypes vary widely and are almost always associated with individual dietary habits, stress influences and levels of exercise. Moose and caribou present the same way for the same reasons.