---
title: "What the sources say about the Moose | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "39 claims from the Moose profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/moose-1.webp"
canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/moose/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Moose (*Alces alces*)

> 39 claims from the Moose profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Moose](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/moose/)

## Alces alces (Eurasian elk). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Alces_alces/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Half-tonne boreal giant | Live weights of males range from 360 to 600 kg (note: half a tonne (500 kg) sits inside the adult male range) |
| Boreal forests all around the Northern Hemisphere, in North America, Europe and Asia | Alces alces, commonly called moose in North America and Eurasian elk in Europe, have a circumpolar distribution in the boreal forests of the Northern Hemisphere. |
| Call it a moose in North America and an elk in Europe: same animal, Alces alces | Alces alces, commonly called moose in North America and Eurasian elk in Europe |
| the largest species in the deer family alive today | Moose are the largest species in the deer family |
| Don't mix it up with the North American elk, Cervus canadensis, a different species that just happens to share a name across the Atlantic | Eurasian elk should not be confused with North American elk, Cervus canadensis, which are a different species. |
| Adult bulls weigh 360 to 600 kilograms and cows 270 to 400 kilograms | Live weights of males range from 360 to 600 kg with lengths from 2.4 to 3.1 m. Females range from 270 to 400 kg |
| Bulls shed their antlers each winter and grow new ones in spring | Antlers are grown in the spring and shed in the winter each year. |
| then shed the whole rack in winter | Antlers are grown in the spring and shed in the winter each year. |
| wolf predation on moose climbs in winters when the snow gets deep enough to slow a moose down too | Predation by wolves is higher in the winter when snow depths are high enough to impede the movement of moose. |
| The whole structure is grown from scratch each year and shed again come winter | Antlers are grown in the spring and shed in the winter each year. |
| Least Concern | IUCN lists moose as a species of “Least Concern” because a majority of populations are expanding and extremely abundant despite heavy hunting pressure in parts of their range. |

## Moose Species Profile. Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=moose.main

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| antlers that are the fastest-growing tissue of any mammal | Antlers are the fastest growing tissue in any mammal |
| the Alaska-Yukon race is the biggest of all | The Alaska-Yukon race (Alces alces gigas) is the largest of all of these creatures. |
| Antler is the fastest-growing tissue of any mammal | Antlers are the fastest growing tissue in any mammal |
| a big bull can grow an 80-pound rack in one summer, adding about a pound of bone and an inch a day | a big bull moose can grow an 80-pound rack in a summer, adding a pound of bone and an inch a day. |
| A pound of bone a day | adding a pound of bone and an inch a day |
| A big bull moose can add a pound of bone and an inch of antler a day through the summer | a big bull moose can grow an 80-pound rack in a summer, adding a pound of bone and an inch a day. |
| Antler is the fastest-growing tissue of any mammal. A big bull moose can grow an 80-pound rack in one summer, adding about a pound of bone and an inch a day | Antlers are the fastest growing tissue in any mammal, and a big bull moose can grow an 80-pound rack in a summer, adding a pound of bone and an inch a day. |

## Mooz (Moose). National Park Service, Grand Portage National Monument.

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/mooz-moose.htm

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| a top speed of up to 35 mph | They run as fast as 35 miles per hour |
| A moose can run as fast as 35 miles an hour | They run as fast as 35 miles per hour |

## Species Spotlight - Moose. National Park Service.

https://www.nps.gov/articles/species-spotlight-moose.htm

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| bulls there can weigh near 1,500 pounds, about 680 kilograms | Especially bulls, which can weigh near 1500 lbs in their Alaska range. (note: 1,500 lb is about 680 kg) |
| Healthy adults don't have many predators | Full size, healthy adult moose don't have many predators. |
| a face full of antlers or hooves is usually enough to deter bears and wolves | A face-full of antlers or hooves is usually enough to deter predators like bears and wolves. |

## How Wildlife are Responding to a Warming Climate. National Park Service, Alaska Park Science.

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/aps-22-1-5.htm

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| stilt legs that sometimes give it an edge over wolves in deep snow | Sometimes, long-legged prey like moose and caribou can move through deep snow easier than wolves. |
| Legs that can sometimes move through deep snow more easily than a wolf's | Sometimes, long-legged prey like moose and caribou can move through deep snow easier than wolves. |
| Long legs sometimes let a moose move through deep snow more easily than a wolf can | Sometimes, long-legged prey like moose and caribou can move through deep snow easier than wolves. |
| Moose and caribou can sometimes move through deep snow more easily than wolves can | Sometimes, long-legged prey like moose and caribou can move through deep snow easier than wolves. |
| at some point, especially with ice on top of the snow, even a moose starts to struggle, and a struggling moose can be a boon for a hungry wolf pack | But at some point, and especially with icing events, even they have a hard time moving in deep snow and have limited access to food resources ... A weakened and vulnerable prey can be a boon for wolves and other predators and scavengers. |

## Moose. Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/wildlife/species-information/mammals/moose.html

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Willow, aspen and birch browse, plus aquatic plants such as pondweed and water lilies | Willow, aspen, birch, maple, pin cherry, and mountain ash are important, high quality browse ... Aquatic plants, such as pondweed and water lily, have higher sodium content than woody vegetation |
| A bull's antler spread rarely tops 65 inches, and 55 inches already counts as a big rack | A bull's antler spread rarely exceeds 65 inches and a spread of 55 inches is considered large. |
| Moose feed on aquatic plants such as pondweed and water lilies, which have a higher sodium content than woody plants | Aquatic plants, such as pondweed and water lily, have higher sodium content than woody vegetation and are an important part of a moose's diet. |

## Can Moose Really Dive? Teton Science Schools.

https://www.tetonscience.org/can-moose-really-dive/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The Only Deer Known to Dive | No other member of the deer family has been observed showing this behavior. (note: 'only ... known to' restates 'no other member has been observed') |
| No other member of the deer family is known to submerge its whole body to feed | we do know moose readily and frequently submerge their bodies entirely underwater in search of food.  No other member of the deer family has been observed showing this behavior. |
| The famous claim that moose dive five to six meters traces back to one eyewitness account in a moose reference book, and its author doesn't say how he confirmed the depth | In North American Moose (Randolph L. Peterson, University of Toronto, 1995), the author reports seeing moose dive over 18 feet to feed on aquatic vegetation – though he does not mention which method he used to confirm that the moose hit that depth. (note: 18 feet is about 5.5 m; the article itself frames the factoid as five to six meters from one eyewitness account) |
| A separate moose reference book states that they can stay underwater for up to 50 seconds | the authors state “Moose readily submerge underwater to feed on aquatics and can remain underwater for up to 50 seconds. |
| Moose readily submerge their whole bodies underwater to feed, the only member of the deer family known to do that | we do know moose readily and frequently submerge their bodies entirely underwater in search of food.  No other member of the deer family has been observed showing this behavior. |
| the famous "five to six meters" figure traces back to one eyewitness account in a moose reference book, and its author doesn't say how he confirmed the depth | In North American Moose (Randolph L. Peterson, University of Toronto, 1995), the author reports seeing moose dive over 18 feet to feed on aquatic vegetation – though he does not mention which method he used to confirm that the moose hit that depth. |
| A separate reference work states that a moose can stay underwater for up to 50 seconds | the authors state “Moose readily submerge underwater to feed on aquatics and can remain underwater for up to 50 seconds. |

## Fraser et al. (1980). Aquatic feeding by moose Alces alces in a Canadian lake. Ecography.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0587.1980.tb00728.x

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| One study found them high in sodium and iron compared with the leafy browse moose eat | Compared to deciduous browse, the aquatic plants had high levels of sodium and iron |