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Moose

Alces alces · Last checked November 3, 2026.

A dark brown bull moose with velvet-covered palmate antlers stands in tall green grass by a pond and looks back.
Bull moose with velvet antlers standing in tall grass beside a pond Photo: Dan Vickers · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

The moose is the largest member of the deer family: adults weigh roughly 800 to 1,600 pounds in Alaska and stand up to about 6 feet at the shoulder. In the U.S. it lives in northern forests, wetlands and willow flats, including Alaska, Maine and the Northeast, the northern Great Lakes and the Rocky Mountains. Moose are not normally aggressive, but wildlife agencies warn that they can charge, kick and stomp. Cows with calves (late spring and summer) and bulls in the fall rut are the main risk, and moose treat dogs as a threat. Washington classifies them as Dangerous Wildlife, and Alaska says moose injure more people there each year than bears do. Alaska Department of Fish and Game

On this page
  1. Is it dangerous?
  2. How to identify it
  3. Where it lives
  4. When it is active
  5. Habitat and habits
  6. Legal status and reporting
  7. Questions
  8. Sources

Is the moose dangerous?

Alaska Department of Fish and Game: more people in Alaska are injured by moose than by bears each year; moose usually flee but can become aggressive and hurt people by charging, stomping and kicking. Alaska Department of Fish and Game

“While moose are generally perceived to be less dangerous than bears, more people in Alaska are injured by moose than by bears each year. Moose will usually flee when threatened but under certain circumstances, they can become aggressive.”

Bites and stings: Not described as biting by the sources checked. The stated danger is charging, kicking and stomping.

How to identify a moose

A photo or description can narrow it down, but cannot confirm what an animal is or that it is safe. Look from a distance and do not handle wild animals.

A blackish moose with short velvet antlers stands side-on in green shrubs, its throat bell hanging.
Young bull with growing velvet antlers, showing bell and long pale legs Photo: Alan Kneidel · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist
Side view of a brown moose's head and neck among willow stems, with a long drooping muzzle and throat bell.
Head and shoulders of an antlerless moose, showing overhanging muzzle and bell Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
A young brown moose calf with long legs and big ears stands in a green meadow with purple flowers.
Moose calf standing in a meadow of lupines Photo: Parker James Lloyd · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist
A dark brown moose stands among red willow stems and dry grass beside snowy ground, looking at the camera.
Antlerless moose standing in willow thicket with snow on the ground Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Size: Alaska: adults 800 lb (small cow) to 1,600 lb (large bull), up to almost 6 feet tall. Elsewhere, NY DEC: bulls 600-1,200 lb, cows 500-800 lb. Alaska Department of Fish and Game

Colors: Dark brown or black body with long grayish-white legs (NY DEC); golden brown to almost black depending on season and age (ADF&G); aDF&G. Pattern: Cows have a white patch beneath the tail.

Key features

Young

Calves weigh about 28 pounds at birth and grow to about 10 times that within 5 months (ADF&G); newborn calves have a red-brown coat.

Where the moose lives

Wisconsin: on the state's official listOregon: on an official sourceNew York: on an official sourceMontana: on the state's official listMinnesota: on an official sourceIowa: on the state's official listNebraska: on the state's official listWashington: on the state's official listSouth Dakota: on the state's official listColorado: on an official sourceUtah: on the state's official listWyoming: on the state's official listNevada: on the state's official listNorth Dakota: on the state's official listMaine: on an official sourceRhode Island: on the state's official listConnecticut: on the state's official listMichigan: on an official sourceAlaska: on an official sourceNew Mexico: on the state's official listVermont: on the state's official listNew Hampshire: on the state's official list
Official presence. 22 states where a state list or official source names it. Gray means no official record in our data, not that it is absent.
  • Native or listed
  • Nonnative or not established
  • No official record in our data
New York: 6 recordsIdaho: 95 recordsMontana: 85 recordsMinnesota: 145 recordsOhio: 1 recordNebraska: 28 recordsWashington: 50 recordsColorado: 432 recordsUtah: 102 recordsWyoming: 343 recordsMassachusetts: 15 recordsNorth Dakota: 9 recordsMaine: 87 recordsMichigan: 89 recordsAlaska: 1,372 recordsVermont: 1,652 recordsNew Hampshire: 244 records
Observation records. Open-licence records on GBIF in 17 states. Records are sightings people shared, not confirmation that a population lives there.
  • 1–9
  • 10–99
  • 100–999
  • 1,000+

On our state guides

State boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file cb_2024_us_state_20m.

When it is active

Most active at dawn and dusk (NPS Isle Royale); NY DEC says dusk to dawn. Rut peaks late September-early October (can run early September-late November, WDFW); calves born mid-May to early June (CPW). National Park Service

US open-licence records peak in May to July and September.

5,011 US records by month (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY). Shows when people record it, not how many there are.

Habitat and habits

Habitat: Boreal (northern) forests; marshy meadows, lake shores and river edges; willow flats. National Park Service

Behavior: Usually alone or in small family groups except during the rut; good swimmers that wade into rivers and deep snow.

Diet: Plants only: leaves and twigs of willow, aspen, birch and other woody plants; aquatic plants in summer; balsam/subalpine fir in winter.

Young: Mating peaks late September-early October; one or two calves born in late May or June; gestation about eight months.

Legal status and reporting

Protection: Regulated game animal where hunted (e.g. WDFW "game animal"; NM BISON-M "Managed as game species" and "Provides full protection"); NY DEC lists conservation status "Protected". Feeding moose is illegal in Alaska (ADF&G).

Report: Colorado: report moose showing dangerous behavior toward people to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. New York DEC and Michigan DNR collect public moose sighting reports. Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Questions about the moose

Are there moose in maine?

Yes. Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife says Maine has the highest moose population in the lower 48 states.

Are there moose in minnesota?

Yes. Minnesota DNR says the population fell from about 8,000 in 2009 and now appears stable at around 3,700.

Are there moose in michigan?

Yes. Michigan DNR says moose are native and most common in the western Upper Peninsula, where a 1980s reintroduction re-established them. NPS says moose live throughout Isle Royale National Park.

Does michigan have moose?

Yes. Michigan DNR says moose are native and most common in the western Upper Peninsula.

Are there moose in colorado?

Yes. Colorado Parks and Wildlife says the state's moose populations are thriving after reintroductions that began in 1978. Walden is the "Moose Viewing Capital of Colorado."

Does colorado have moose?

Yes. Colorado Parks and Wildlife reintroduced moose beginning in 1978, and it says the populations are now thriving.

Are there moose in washington state?

Yes. WDFW estimated about 5,000 moose in 2015, mostly in the Selkirk Mountains of northeast Washington, with smaller groups in the north Cascades, Okanogan and Blue Mountains.

Are there moose in oregon?

Yes, but only a few. ODFW says moose came in from Washington or Idaho and formed a herd of about 50 in the Blue Mountains north of Elgin.

Are there moose in acadia national park?

Very rarely. The National Park Service says moose are rarely seen in Acadia.

Sources

  1. Moose Species Profile. Alaska Department of Fish and Game. undated page; checked November 3, 2026.
    Quoted passages (4)
    “Adult moose can range in size from 800 pounds (small adult female) to1,600 pounds (large adult male), and they can be up to almost 6 feet tall.”
    “Moose are often easily recognized by their antlers, carried only by the males.”
    “At the time of birth, these babies can weigh in at a mere 28 pounds, but within the first 5 months, calves grow to about 10 times that size.”
    “During the fall and winter, moose consume large quantities of willow, birch, and aspen twigs.”
  2. Living with Moose. Alaska Department of Fish and Game. undated page; checked November 3, 2026.
    Quoted passages (1)
    “While moose are generally perceived to be less dangerous than bears, more people in Alaska are injured by moose than by bears each year. Moose will usually flee when threatened but under certain circumstances, they can become aggressive.”
  3. Moose (Alces alces). Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. undated page; checked November 3, 2026.
  4. Moose. New York State DEC. archived copy, captured June 16, 2026; checked November 3, 2026.
  5. Moose - Yellowstone National Park. National Park Service. updated April 18, 2025; checked November 3, 2026.
    Quoted passages (5)
    “Adults of both sexes have ‘bells’—a pendulous dewlap of skin and hair that dangles from the throat.”
    “The antlers are flat and palmate (shaped like a hand).”
    “Marshy areas of meadows, lake shores, and along rivers.”
    “Except during the rut, moose are usually found alone or in small family groups.”
    “Mating season peaks in late September and early October; one or two calves born in late May or June.”
  6. Moose. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (MyODFW). undated page; checked November 3, 2026.
    Quoted passages (1)
    “The muzzle is broad and overhanging, the palmate antlers of adult males are massive”
  7. Moose - Isle Royale National Park. National Park Service. updated October 14, 2020; checked November 3, 2026.
    Quoted passages (1)
    “They are most active during dawn and dusk.”
  8. Living with Moose. Colorado Parks and Wildlife. undated page; checked November 3, 2026.
    Quoted passages (1)
    “Moose that exhibit dangerous behavior towards people should be reported to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.”
  9. Moose. Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. undated page; checked November 3, 2026.
  10. Moose management. Minnesota DNR. archived copy, captured October 25, 2026; checked November 3, 2026.
  11. Moose (Michigan species). Michigan DNR. archived copy, captured May 17, 2026; checked November 3, 2026.
  12. Mammals - Acadia National Park. National Park Service. updated August 28, 2025; checked November 3, 2026.
  13. GBIF.org occurrence records, human observations licensed CC0 1.0 or CC BY 4.0 only, accessed November 3, 2026. The datasets behind these counts are listed on our Sources page.
  14. State boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file cb_2024_us_state_20m.