Yesterday morning, my youngest called down that "There's a moose in the front yard". So we all traipsed over to the windows for a look. When I located it, it just didn't 'look right'. Couldn't put my finger on it, and it wasn't a 'big' deal, but I decided to go get some pictures.
 
It was obvious that it was not this year's young as it was way too big to have been born within the last two weeks. By the same token, it was very small to be a yearling. He stood around long enough for me to get some good pictures, then mosied off.
 
When I downloaded the pictures to the computer, I began to see some 'strange' things. Besides his small size, his antler nubs were awfully small for this late in the year. Also, he was uniformly colored. Most moose, especially bulls, are at least "two-tone" - having a dark back and light legs. He was uniformly brown, and not shiney brown, but dull, "mousey" brown. Finally; no visible testicles. And by this time - a year old - the testicles should be visible. At first, I thought it might be a female with antlers, but after a "good look", no vulva either. Just a very odd little boy moose. Here are some photos to illustrate what I'm talking about.
 
First, just a general portrait:

 
Here's a little closer look at his head. Note uniform color from top to bottom, and small antler buttons.

 
Here's the 'rear view'. Note lack of testicles or vulva.

 
Here's a picture of an even youger bull - about 9 months old when picture was taken. Note coloration and general form.

 
Here's another 'portrait':

 
Paul

So some kind of cross breed maybe?
 
What could a moose cross with anyway?

Gee, a moose could get cross with anything.
Oh, you mean breed with....... :D

Interesting, nice pics.

Nah, it's all moose. The only other native deer up here is the Sitka Black-tail, and the nearest one is about 500 miles south across the Shelikof Straits or the same distance east across Prince William Sound. (There are some transplanted Tule elk, but they're also on Kodiak (across Shelikof also.)
 
I think it's just "hormonally challenged" for some reason. I'm thinking it is what is called "cryptorchid" - meaning the testicles remain in the body cavity instead of descending into the scrotum. When this happens, the animal fails to produce testosterone and tends to be "feminine-ish".
 
Paul

Needs to be sent to the island of misfit toys... Unless he can fly, of course.....
 
 
Looks healthy, with the exception of the horns. Nice photos..... :)

thanks for the detailed pictures Paul.
 
All the moose up here have fur coming off and are half grey and half black. that moose looks nice and healthy though. quite a hump on him. God Bless.

He's a little skinny for a yearling, but I've seen much, much worse. His mother might have been killed on the road and he didn't have the benefit of knowing where the 'good' winter forage was. But I agree that he is in fine fettle. If he wanders this way come fall (August), he's likely to end up in the freezer, given that his antlers will likely be "spike/fork". These pictures were taken less than 50 yds from my freezer. :)
 
Paul

Whats tha chance of that young moose being born out of the usual time
of year?.....Here,....whitetail deer are subject to drop fawn from Spring to
as late as August 26th, that I know for fact, personally....I've seen tiny
fawns with doe during bow season, many times....say October..........BH51...

Paul, the varmint appears to be in good health to me but a little odd looking. I never saw a moose with even coloration before. There is freaks in all of nature. Attached is a somewhat lousy picture of a young moose in Maine. His antlers are just begenning to grow. I would gusee him to be a year and a half old. His antlers appear to be only about three inches long but are in fact about nine inches. You can see he has the light coloration on the legs. Incidentally, Mazalean took one look and told me to tell you, shoot him and send her the meat. She doesn't care what he looks like now. .........Paul H

My brother shot a whitetail without testicles several years ago.  "It" had antlers, but they were nothing to brag about and hadn't shed their velvet even though it was November or December.

Up here in Alaska, and the arctic in general, you can set your watch by the birthing dates. Every moose in Alaska is born the first week of May. Caribou and Dall sheep are the same way - every one of 'em within a one week period. (Caribou maybe 10 days max.) The reason is not so much the nature of the springs, but rather the nature of the fall/rut. If a female fails to mate or get pregnant during the estrus during the main rut, a month later is just too late. Of course I'm sure there is the very rare exception, but that's not the case with this animal. His problem is definitely hormonal of some sort. Either natural (genetic) or artifical (physically harmed).
 
Paul