In America, we call this animal a moose. I learned that in Eurasia, it’s called an elk. We use that word for another member of the deer family, which is also called a wapiti. This is done to clarify a few things for my followers who are on the other side of the Atlantic. So, here we have the moose.
I did try to get one picture of each of the subspecies, but most of the ones I found simply said ‘moose’. A lot of them were also of dead moose who had been shot by hunters who proudly stood over them with guns. Even with the hunting and a problem with parasites, the moose population holds strong. They aren’t endangered and have few predators outside of humans, who can’t win without guns. Wolves as a pack, brown bears, Siberian tigers, and one I’ll mention later are it. So, there isn’t a lot of things that can kill a full-grown moose.
Let’s get a fact list going:
- Moose are found in Northern America (Canada and upper states) and along the Northern territories of Europe and Asian.
- They are most noted for their open-hand shaped antlers.
- Moose can grow up to 6’11” at the shoulder with males being around 1,543 lbs and females being 1,080 lbs. They can get up to 10’2” long. These are massive animals.
- They have long muzzles and can close off their nostrils to help them feed on aquatic vegetation.
- Moose are powerful swimmers and can dive over 18 feet.
- THE SURPRISE PREDATOR: Orcas (killer whales) have been known to eat moose in the water. Imagine seeing this happen.
- Cows typically give birth to twins instead of one calf. There have also been cases of triplets.
- They are the official state animal of Maine.
- Moose are browsing feeders instead of grazers. This means it is an herbivore that eats leaves, soft shoots, and fruits instead of grass.
- Their antlers can have a span of nearly 6 feet.
- Calves can outrun a human by the time they are 5 days old.
- A moose can kick in any direction.
Let’s get the pictures and videos. Again, I can’t really be sure if the picture is of the correct subspecies. Many of them look the same and I had to trust the site I found it on through Google Image Search.
Alaskan Moose
Amur Moose
Chukotka Moose
Eastern Moose
European Elk (Moose)
Western Moose
Yakutia Moose
Yellowstone Moose
Legends of Windemere 
I have seen them in the wild and they are as majestic as they appear to be here. Terrifyingly so. Fortunately, I wasn’t too close.
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I never got to see one in the wild. Kind of want too, but I’m not in driving distance of their territory. Maybe one day.
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They are so impressive, aren’t they? And good beasts to give a wide berth to. We saw them in Alaska eating greens in a weed-clogged lake. When they lifted their heads up, the greens hung from their antlers like decorations.
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Very cool. I didn’t get to see any in Alaska. Lots of bald eagles, but none of the large mammals made an appearance.
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Well, I doubt many people would – we had taken a small prop plane ride over Denali and were going to land on a glacier – but a storm popped up so the pilot buzzed some moose eating in a lake.
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The only Moose we have in Bournemouth is Chocolate Moose, a very cuddly toy! Whatever the real ones are called they are fascinating; though I wouldn’t want them fighting in my garden, they didn’t seem to do harm to each other or the neighbourhood.
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I’ve seen videos where they break bushes and damage cars. Don’t think they hurt each other too much. Still, if they decide to rumble on your property, you can’t really do anything about it beyond getting popcorn and watching from a safe distance.
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Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog.
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Thanks for sharing.
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In Scotland, “a mouse” is pronounced “a moose” as in “there’s a moose loose aboot the hoose” (seriously) 😃
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Ha!
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We actually get them wandering through my town once or twice a year. A river flows through, and the moose seem to follow the stream side. Last year, our school was on lockdown because of a moose in an adjoining park.
However big you think the moose is, it is much bigger!
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I don’t blame the school for that. Kids plus moose seems like a bad combo.
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They’re so cool. We have them here and every Spring they have to escort one from a residential area. These are the Shiras variety, but according to your nomenclature, they could have been renamed. I’ve seen them in Canada and Alaska and they only get bigger the farther North you travel.
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How do you escort a moose? I assume it doesn’t go willingly.
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Generally with a tranquilizer and a truck. Sometimes a ride in a net below a helicopter.
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Has to be a really big tranquilizer dart.
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Orca’s eating Moose? I’d like to see that! Maybe they eat humans walking along the beach as well?
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Orcas don’t go for humans. Apparently, they’ve never showed an interest in us as food. Can’t find a video of orca eating moose. The only evidence is finding moose carcasses on shores with orca bite marks on them.
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Orcas,Crocs and Gators all do the same thing, they grab and pull the prey back into the water.
Could you please send me the link that talked about this Moose having Orca bite marks on it please.
thank you
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https://naturenoon.com/orcas-natural-predator-of-mooses/
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thank you! I will pass this onto friends who study Orcas.
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You’re welcome. Curious to know if this is true or an urban legend.
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for it to be true, all. you would need is just one attack.
All animals terrestrial and aquatic are opportunists. I suspect bears have been eaten,Deer,Cougars and wolves but of course It would be a rare occasion. To witness and record such an event would be even rarer.
These are the people I send my pictures and observations to.
https://www.simrstofino.org/
Will let you know what they say?
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Reading that orcas aren’t opportunistic feeders. That’s why they don’t go for humans and other types of animals like bears. So, the theory that they feed on dead moose floating around might have some merit.
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I respectively disagree with your statement that Orcas are not opportunistic feeders.
https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=killerwhale.printerfriendly#:~:text=Killer%20whales%20are%20opportunistic%20feeders,that%20feed%20on%20marine%20mammals.
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I respectively disagree with your statement that Orcas are not opportunistic feeders.
https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=killerwhale.printerfriendly#:~:text=Killer%20whales%20are%20opportunistic%20feeders,that%20feed%20on%20marine%20mammals.
I’ve often wondered about the Transients? With the ever dwindling stock of Chinook salmon,I wondered what would they do If a Harbour Seal swam past? I and anyone I’ve asked agree that they would go after the seal! Better to have a full belly than a empty one.
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I respectively disagree with your statement that Orcas are not opportunistic feeders.
https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=killerwhale.printerfriendly#:~:text=Killer%20whales%20are%20opportunistic%20feeders,that%20feed%20on%20marine%20mammals.
I’ve often wondered about the Transients? With the ever dwindling stock of Chinook salmon,I wondered what would they do If a Harbour Seal swam past? I and anyone I’ve asked agree that they would go after the seal! Better to have a full belly than a empty one.
Sorry,I meant Resident Orcas are normally salmon eaters.
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If any animal is starving, it will pounce on the first potential meal. Kind of like how starving lions will challenge rhinos and giraffes instead of sticking to less lethal prey. Even with the opportunistic aspects in the article, it only mentions aquatic animals. I’m not sure bears, wolves, and humans count them since they’re not normally found in the water.
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one thing I have learned on the coast here is that all terrestrial predators “island hop”. They swim from island to island to check out the supermarket?
Bears, Wolves, Cougars and yes even Deer. I’ve seen them all swimming.
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True, but the question is really if an orca would go for them. That’s why the moose seems to still be in question. It could be more of a scavenger situation than an actual hunt. I haven’t found anything about orcas eating those other animals or corpses being found with bite marks like moose. I wonder if orca can recognize claws and shark teeth, so they’ll avoid the predators.
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this was the response from one of the researchers ……….Regarding the orca vs moose, that is a wild tale that I have heard before and one that I think is definitely possible.
We know that killer whales will beach themselves to hunt prey in the Southern Hemisphere, and have recently found that even the Bigg’s here in the Salish Sea will deliberately run aground to ambush prey. The Hakai institute did a great article on it: https://hakaimagazine.com/news/salish-sea-killer-whales-have-a-surprising-new-way-of-hunting/. So there is always the possibility of an orca ambushing a moose. More likely though, I think it would be in the water (since moose are also water hunters as well as land animals) that an orca may opportunistically hunt a moose. There have been moose found with rake marks, but it’s unclear whether this is the cause of death for the animal or simply happened after the fact. Since there have been no recorded sightings of an attack- quite the mystery!
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Reblogged this on Kim's Musings and commented:
Interesting
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Thanks for the reblog.
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Never knew there were so many different types. Thanks, Charles.
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Same here. They don’t look that different.
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Reblogged this on NEW BLOG HERE >> https:/BOOKS.ESLARN-NET.DE.
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Thanks for sharing.
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I think they are best behaved in the wild.;-) They are wonderful, indeed. Thanks for sharing the information, Charles! Beeing honest i never had thought there are so many different of them. Best wishes, Michael
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Glad you enjoyed it.
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I would love to see a moose! They’re certainly here in New England, yet I have not seen one.
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Hope you get a chance from a safe distance.
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I do, too.
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