# Moose (*Alces alces*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/moose  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The moose (Alces alces), also called Elk, Eurasian elk, European elk or Siberian elk, is a mammal in the family Cervidae, order Artiodactyla. It is a giant terrestrial herbivore, with an adult body mass of 357 kg as a representative value and reported values from 351 to 789 kg. Its main foods are forb, polypodiopsida, populus tremuloides, potamogeton distinctus, salix and taraxacum, and its recorded habitat is shrubland, where it is nocturnal. The moose is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 351 kg – 789 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 27 years |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Main food | forb, polypodiopsida, populus tremuloides, potamogeton distinctus, salix, taraxacum |
| Habitat | shrubland |
| Gestation | 224 days – 242 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1.29 |
| Age at maturity | 23.4 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1.24 |
| Active | At night (nocturnal) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Artiodactyla
- family: Cervidae
- genus: Alces
- species: *Alces alces* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Alces alce*, *Alces antiquorum*, *Alces bedfordiae*, *Alces coronatus*, *Alces europaeus*, *Alces jubata*, *Alces machilis*, *Alces machlis*, *Alces palmatus*, *Cervus alces*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is a moose?

The moose is a mammal in the family Cervidae, order Artiodactyla. It falls in the giant size class, with an adult body mass over 250 kg.

### How heavy is a moose?

A representative adult body mass is 357 kg, and reported values range from 351 to 789 kg.

### What does a moose eat?

The moose is a herbivore. Its main foods are forb, polypodiopsida, populus tremuloides, potamogeton distinctus, salix and taraxacum.

### How long does a moose live?

The lifespan of the moose is given as 27 years.

### How many young does a moose have?

A moose has 1.3 young per litter and 1.2 litters per year. Gestation lasts 242 days, and sexual maturity is reached at 1.9 years.

### Who named the moose and when?

The moose, Alces alces, carries the authority (Linnaeus, 1758).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), CC0 1.0, 1.0. Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Moose (Alces alces). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/moose