Beautiful Silhouette Of Bull Moose.
Fun Moose Facts For Kids
Interesting Facts About Moose For Kids
My family and I live in the Northwest of the United States and are lucky to get to see moose every year. Were very excited to bring you these incredible and fun moose facts for kids. To many people these are kind of awkward and ugly animals, but in truth they are unique and amazing. It’s a hard animal to appreciate until you have had an up close and personal run in. They are an animal that us in the Northwest are proud of and an animal that people in my area absolutely love. Let’s take a look at some moose facts for kids!
Fun Moose Facts For Kids
One of the most unique features of a moose is their large antlers, which can spread out to 6 feet from end to end. Moose can be found living across the northern part of the U.S. and into Canada, they are also found in northern Europe and Asia. A moose does not travel very far South as they stay in the colder regions of the world.
Where do moose live? Here is a great map that shows their range around the world. They definitely like to stay north.
Moose like to stay in wet marshy areas to find food. You will often find them in bodies of water like rivers or lakes. They like to feed on aquatic plants that found below and above the water level. They may not look like it, but a moose is at home in the water. They are large and fairly bulky animals, but are incredibly good swimmers. They have been spotted paddling in water for several miles and even completely submerging under water for up to 30 seconds at a time!
A moose calf and cow eating some aquatic vegetation.
Interesting Facts About Moose For Kids
Here are some quick, but important moose facts for kids. If you are writing a report or need some general information, the chart below will be great. If your in a hurry for the more interesting stuff, go ahead and scroll down to find some amazing facts about moose.
Typical Size Compared To A Human
Here is a moose next to an average sized human. Pretty big!!
Moose Facts For Kids
Alright, now the fun part. This is where you will learn some more interesting moose facts for kids. These are extraordinary animals and I’m proud to present these facts about moose. Have fun, and hopefully you learn something!!
♦ First and maybe most important, moose plural is moose. Much like deer. We never say mooses just like we don’t say deers. A group of moose is the same as a single moose.
♦ Moose are so tall, they prefer to look for taller vegetation so they don’t have to lower their heads as far to the ground to eat.
♦ They are the largest of all the species of deer.
♦ Their antlers are their most distinguishable feature and are huge. They can be 6 feet from end to end.
♦ Their is a flap of skin that dangles from their neck called a bell which sways back and forth.
♦ In winter when the aquatic vegetation is frozen they will eat shrubs and pine cones. They also will use their hooves to dig in the frozen ground to find moss and lichen.
♦ Their hooves are large and can also act as snow shoes, helping them walk on snow. They also help them in wet marshy areas avoid sinking too deep.
♦ Moose love to swim, they can paddle for miles at a time. They have even been seen submerging below water for up to 30 seconds at a time!
♦ They look awkward, but are actually incredibly nimble and fast. They can run up to 35 miles per hour (56 kilometers) for short distances and can trot at 20 miles per hour (32 kilometers) an hour.
♦ Females give berth to one or two calves in the spring, the calves can weigh up to 30 pounds at birth and can outrun a person at only 5 days old. We actually saw a mother with 2 moose calves this last summer. The kids (10 and 8) were riding in the back of the truck. We were on an old mountain road, they spotted the moose and her babies walking across the road behind us. They tapped on the window and we all watched them cross in no hurry. It was beautiful! And an amazing experience for the kids.
Great photo of the moose antlers.
♦ Much like reindeer (see reindeer facts for kids, click here!) the moose hair is hollow which helps insulate them from the cold.
♦ The hump on a moose back is actually caused by massive shoulder muscles.
♦ Moose are actually really good jumpers. Their front legs are longer to assist them in jumping over objects that may be in their way.
♦ A group of moose would be referred to as a herd. However, they are solitary animals and you will never find them in a herd like you may find elk or deer.
♦ Moose are very docile but can be aggressive if they feel threatened or are startled. They also become more aggressive when they have their young around.
♦ They eat a lot, they devour up to 73 pounds of food a day (plants) in the summer and 34 pounds in the winter.
♦ Moose use their antlers for some pretty epic fights come mating season. Right below these facts is a pretty epic battle between 2 moose in a neighborhood.
♦ They shed their antlers every year. Their antlers grow a velvet and is vascularized to help support blood flow to the antlers to help them grow.
♦ A full grown moose antlers can weigh up to 40 pounds, wow, that’s a lot of weight on your head!
♦ Calves stay with their mother for a year and a half before separating.
♦ A male moose is called a bull and a female is called a cow.
Epic Moose Battle In Neighborhood Video
Fun Facts About Moose For Kids Conclusion
That was a lot of fun! I’m so very glad you decided to come learn about the moose. I’m even more hopeful that you are in an area that maybe doesn’t have moose, so that you can spread the information around to your friends. They don’t live everywhere, but people should know about them. They are truly amazing and deserve some attention.
Why not learn some more amazing facts! Check out the top 20 most amazing creatures you never knew existed? Simply click that link to see some of the most amazing creatures to walk and swim on this earth. You can check out some other amazing fact pages we have written below. Go ahead, go check them out!
Moose Facts For Kids
