Moose

Alces alces

Photo: Nancy Turner

Appearance

Moose are the largest member of the deer family; they weigh up to 600 kilograms in Canada (800 kilograms in Alaska) and stand taller than a horse. Mature bulls grow antlers up to 180 centimetres wide.

Range & Habitat

There are between 500,000 and one million moose in Canada. They are found across Canada and Alaska in swamps and woodlands that have lots of green plants to eat and little snow in the winter. In B.C., this animal is found in the Central Interior, Sub-Boreal Interior, and Boreal Plains ecoprovinces.

Diet & Behaviour

Moose eat twigs, shrubs, bark and tender plants. In the summer, they can eat over 30 kilograms of food a day. Males use their large antlers for fighting for a mate.

Lifecycle & Threats

They spend most of their time alone until mating season when they gather in groups of up to 20. After mating, the female is pregnant for about 230 days and most calves are born in May. Adults are eaten by packs of wolves and grizzly bears. Black and grizzly bears, cougar and sometimes wolverines eat calves. Threats to moose include hunting, land use, ticks, parasites and competition for food from beaver, deer and rabbits.