Moose

The moose is the largest living deer in the world. It lives in northern forests around the Northern Hemisphere, from Canada and Alaska to Scandinavia, the Baltic states, Russia and Mongolia. The biggest numbers live in Canada.

Males grow broad, flat antlers shaped like an open hand, while most other deer have pointed, twig-like ones. Moose are also tall, with a shoulder height of about 1.4 to 1.9 metres, making the species the tallest land animal in North America. Males use their antlers in autumn fights over females, and calves are born in spring. Moose are mostly slow-moving, but they can run fast if angered or startled.

Antlers and swimming

A male sheds his antlers every winter and grows a new set in spring; a pair can span 1.5 to 2 metres and weigh around 40 kilograms. Moose have wide hooves, swim well and can dive under water for about 40 seconds to eat water plants, so wading and diving for plants is a normal meal. Moose range from the cold boreal forests to mixed broadleaf forests. Hunting and habitat loss have shrunk their range in some places, and they have been reintroduced elsewhere.

Food and life

In summer moose eat both land and water plants. In winter they depend on twigs, branches and dead wood. They are mostly solitary; calves stay with their mother until she is ready to breed again, about 18 months after the birth. Wolves, bears and humans are main predators. Their long legs let them walk through deep snow and swamp where other animals struggle, while sharp hearing and smell help them notice wolves and bears.

On the globe

The model shows a moose with big palm-shaped antlers, standing near wet forest ground.