ghost moose

Noun

ghost moose (plural ghost moose)

1. A moose that has lost 80% or more of its fur from excessive grooming or rubbing due to parasites (particularly ticks), revealing pale skin underneath.
   • Bill has made a movie of the so-called “ghost” moose that suffer from this condition. They are white and ghostly because the only hairs left over large parts of their bodies are the white remnant stubs of the original, long black and dark-brown coat.2012, Jerry C. Haigh, Of Moose and Men: A Wildlife Vet's Pursuit of the World's Largest Deer, →ISBN
   • Figure 1. Sequence of premature loss of winter hair on moose infested with Dermacentor albipictus. A No loss. B slight loss; approximately 5 to 20% of winter hair lost or broken at or near skin level…E Ghost moose; over 80% lost or damaged.1989, W.M. Samuel, “Locations of Moose in Northwestern Canada with Hair Loss Probably Caused by the Winter Tick, Dermacentor albipictus (Acari: Ixodidae)”, in Journal of Wildlife Diseases
2. (Canada) Synonym of spirit moose (“a white moose”).
   • He is all white lak de moon on de watair. He come not often, oh, ver' seldom." "What !" cried I, "is he a ghost moose?" "Yaas, jes' so — a ghost moose."1905, Bret Harte, Overland Monthly and Out West Magazine, page 71
   • In camp that evening the discussion turned to strategy for the campaign against the ghost moose. He was given to hanging out near the mouth of a sluggish stream which drained a big swamp far back in the spruce.1958, T.S. Denison, Hunting Adventures, page 123

   Synonyms:

   spirit moose