Meet the Moose: Built Like a Tank, Floats Like a Canoe
- Hidden Moose of Wisconsin
- Jan 20
- 2 min read
If Wisconsin had a “most likely to be underestimated” award, moose would win it while standing quietly in a marsh, pretending not to exist.
Moose (Alces alces) are the largest members of the deer family anywhere in the world. Adults stand roughly 5 to 7 feet tall at the shoulder and stretch 8 to 10 feet from nose to tail. Bulls can weigh anywhere from 900 to 1,400 pounds, while cows generally range from 700 to 1,100 pounds.
That’s not a deer. That’s a moving wall with opinions.
Their bodies are built for wetlands and winter. Long legs for deep snow and water. High, humped shoulders for muscle power. A short tail that seems almost symbolic. Add the long overhanging nose and the dewlap hanging beneath the chin and you get an animal that looks like it was designed by committee and approved anyway.
No one knows exactly what the dewlap is for—some theories float around, but really, it just exists, it swings, and the moose carries on.
Their coats range from dark brown to nearly black in adults, with younger animals showing more reddish-brown tones. The hair itself is coarse and hollow, packed with air cells that provide insulation in brutal cold and buoyancy in water. This is why moose swim so confidently and why they seem perfectly comfortable wading chest-deep into lakes and marshes.
They are not only good swimmers. They are ambitious swimmers. Moose can swim up to 12 miles at about 6 miles per hour, which feels excessive until you realize lakes and wetlands are highways in moose country.
In short, moose are not clumsy giants wandering randomly through forests. They are specialized, efficient, and very well adapted to living where most humans would prefer not to.
Which brings us to where they actually live in Wisconsin.
Next up: How moose silently make Wisconsin their home.
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