Moose vs Reindeer
The moose is heavier: 357 kg against 86 kg for the reindeer, about 4.1 times the weight.
Photo: Badzil · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Dean Biggins (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
What is the difference between a moose and a reindeer?
Each point below is worked out from a pair of recorded values.
- The moose is heavier: 357 kg against 86 kg for the reindeer, about 4.1 times the weight.
- The moose is longer-lived: 27 years against 20.2 years for the reindeer, about 34% longer.
- They share the family Cervidae but sit in different genera: Moose in Alces, Reindeer in Rangifer.
- The moose is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List; the reindeer is Vulnerable.
Side by side
| Moose | Reindeer | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Alces alces | Rangifer tarandus |
| Family | Cervidae | Cervidae |
| Order | Artiodactyla | Artiodactyla |
| Weight | 351 kg – 789 kg | 86 kg – 110.5 kg |
| Length | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 27 years | 20.2 years |
| Main food | forb, polypodiopsida, populus tremuloides, potamogeton distinctus, salix, taraxacum | arctic char, bird egg, carex, cladonia rangiferina, fish, lemming and 4 more |
| Habitat | shrubland | forest |
| Conservation status | Least Concern | Vulnerable |
| Countries recorded | Not recorded | Not recorded |
A scale drawing needs a recorded length for both animals; only weights are on record for this pair.
Full record: MooseFull record: ReindeerCompare other animals