2013
Moose, distinguished by the males’ palmate antlers, which can have up to a 6 foot spread, are the largest extant species in the deer family. Except for the two species of bison, the moose is the second largest land animal in both North America and Europe. Typically they inhabit boreal and mixed deciduous forests of the Northern Hemisphere in temperate to subarctic climates. While Moose used to have a much wider range, hunting and other human activities have greatly reduced it.
The most common moose predators are wolves, bears, and humans. Unlike most other deer species, moose are solitary animals and do not form herds. Although generally slow-moving and sedentary, moose can become aggressive and move quickly if angered or startled. Their mating season in the autumn can lead to spectacular fights between males competing for a female.
Right out of ‘central casting’, this bull moose poses in all his glory along the edge of a good friend’s front yard pond fed from the Snake River.
