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Concept
Moose
Summary
The moose (: moose; used in North America) or elk (: elk or elks; used in Eurasia) (Alces alces) is the only species in the genus Alces. It is the largest and heaviest extant species of deer. Most adult male moose have distinctive broad, palmate ("open-hand shaped") antlers; most other members of the deer family have antlers with a dendritic ("twig-like") configuration. Moose typically inhabit boreal forests and temperate broadleaf and mixed forests of the Northern Hemisphere in temperate to subarctic climates. Hunting and other human activities have caused a reduction in the size of the moose's range over time. It has been reintroduced to some of its former habitats. Currently, most moose occur in Canada, Alaska, New England (with Maine having the most of the contiguous United States), New York State, Fennoscandia, the Baltic states, Poland, Kazakhstan, and Russia.
Its diet consists of both terrestrial and aquatic vegetation. Predators of moose include wolves, bears, humans, wolverines (rarely), and (while swimming in the ocean) orcas. Unlike most other deer species, moose do not form herds and are solitary animals, aside from calves who remain with their mother until the cow begins estrus (typically at 18 months after birth of the calf), at which point the cow chases them away. Although generally slow-moving and sedentary, moose can become aggressive, and move quickly if angered or startled. Their mating season in the autumn features energetic fights between males competing for a female.
Alces alces is called a "moose" in North American English, but an "elk" in British English. The word "elk" in North American English refers to a completely different species of deer, Cervus canadensis, also called the wapiti. A mature male moose is called a bull, a mature female a cow, and an immature moose of either sex a calf.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the etymology of the species is "of obscure history". In Classical Antiquity, the animal was known as ἄλκη álkē in Greek and alces in Latin, words probably borrowed from a Germanic language or another language of northern Europe.
Official source
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