Classroom lesson 路 Wildlife馃嚚馃嚘 Canada

Moose - the giants of the forest

As tall as a horse and as heavy as a small car

A large bull moose with wide antlers standing in autumn grasses

Photo 路 Wikimedia Commons

What is it?

Moose are the biggest deer in the world. A grown male can stand 2 metres tall at the shoulder - so tall that if you stood next to one, the top of its back would be higher than most adults' heads. They live in forests all across Canada, from Newfoundland to British Columbia.

Tell me more

A grown male moose (called a bull) can weigh as much as a small car - around 700 kilograms. He grows huge flat antlers every year, which can spread nearly 2 metres from tip to tip. The antlers fall off in winter, and a brand new pair grows back in the spring.

Moose love water. They wade into lakes and rivers to munch on water plants, sometimes putting their whole head underwater. They are also surprisingly fast swimmers. A moose can swim several kilometres without stopping, paddling with all four legs like a giant dog.

Baby moose - called calves - are born in late spring. Within a few hours of being born, a calf can already stand up and walk. Within a week, it can run faster than a human. The mother is fiercely protective and stays close to her calf all summer.

Moose are mostly gentle, quiet animals, but they are big enough that drivers in Canada have to be careful. There are even special road signs all across the country with a black moose silhouette, warning cars to slow down at night.

In the classroom

Walk your class through this in 15 minutes.

Talk together

Discussion prompts

  1. 01Why might it help baby moose to be able to stand within hours of being born?
  2. 02Moose grow new antlers every single year. Can you think of other body parts in animals that grow back?
  3. 03Imagine driving down a road and seeing a 'beware of the moose' sign. What would that tell you about the place you were in?
Try this

Classroom activity

Mark out 2 metres on the floor or wall - that's how tall a moose is at the shoulder. Now mark out another 2 metres in the air for its antlers. Stand a few classmates side-by-side underneath. How many would fit under the antlers?