This moose trivia quiz has 50 free questions with answers and covers the largest deer alive: how tall and heavy they get, why their antlers are shaped like open hands and how fast they grow, the dewlap under the chin, the hollow hairs that keep them afloat, and the surprising fact that they dive more than five metres for lake-bottom plants. It also ranges across the animal's history and culture: Julius Caesar's description, the Algonquian origin of the word, why Britons say 'elk', the four moose that founded Newfoundland's herd, the Russian farm that milks them, Sweden's enormous annual hunt, the car-industry 'moose test', Bullwinkle, the Loyal Order of Moose and Moose Jaw. Easy questions suit kids and family quiz nights; the harder ones will stretch wildlife buffs. Every answer was checked against encyclopaedia entries before publishing.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01The moose is the largest living member of which animal family?
Deer
It is the only surviving species in the genus Alces and, after the bison, the second-heaviest land animal in North America.
Q 02What is the animal Americans call a moose called in British English?
Elk
Confusingly, Americans use 'elk' for a different deer, the wapiti.
Q 03The word 'moose' entered English by 1606 from which language family?
Algonquian
Early sources trace it to a word meaning 'he strips off', for the way the animal strips bark and twigs.
Q 04How are a bull moose's antlers described, in contrast to the twig-shaped antlers of other deer?
Palmate, like an open hand
They take only three to five months to grow fully, making them one of the fastest-growing organs in the animal kingdom.
Q 05What is the fold of skin hanging under a moose's chin called?
A dewlap or bell
Both males and females have one.
Q 06How deep have moose been known to dive to reach plants on lake bottoms?
Over 5.5 metres
Their nostrils can seal shut while they browse underwater.
Q 07What feature of a moose's guard hairs helps it stay afloat when swimming?
They are hollow and filled with air
The same hollow hairs provide insulation through Arctic winters.
Q 08Which is the moose's only confirmed marine predator?
Orca
They occasionally take moose swimming between islands on the Northwest Coast; a Greenland shark has been recorded scavenging one.
Q 09Which big cat regularly preys on adult moose?
Siberian tiger
Otherwise a full-grown moose has few enemies beyond wolf packs and brown bears.
Q 10Worldwide, only one wild mammal injures more people than moose. Which?
Hippopotamus
Moose are not usually aggressive to humans, but they can kick in every direction, including sideways.
Q 11Which ancient author first described the moose, in his account of the Gallic wars?
Julius Caesar
He called them alces and repeated some odd claims about them.
Q 12Moose were introduced to which Canadian island in 1878 and 1904, becoming its dominant large herbivore?
Newfoundland
About 150,000 of them descend from just four animals brought over in the 1900s.
Q 13The island's roughly 150,000 moose are descended from how many introduced animals?
Four
They are not native and their impact on the island's plants and endemic species is well documented.
Q 21Why do bull moose drop their antlers after the mating season?
To conserve energy for winter
Immature bulls may keep theirs until the following spring.
Q 22Unlike most deer, moose do not form herds. A calf stays with its mother for how long?
About 18 months
That is roughly until the cow comes into estrus again.
Q 23From how far away can a bull moose's grunts be heard?
Up to 500 metres
Females make a wail-like sound instead.
Q 14As of the 2020s, which country was estimated to have the greatest moose population?
Canada
Estimates for Canada run from 500,000 to a million animals.
Q 15Which European country's annual moose hunt, over 150,000 animals, is twice North America's total harvest?
Sweden
Antlers found in hut remains near Alby show people there were hunting moose around 6000 BC.
Q 16Roughly how much did the largest confirmed moose, shot on the Yukon River in 1897, weigh?
820 kg
It stood 2.33 metres at the shoulder; heavier claims exist but none has been authenticated.
Q 17Which subspecies is the largest of them all?
Alaska
Bulls can stand over 2.1 metres at the shoulder with antlers spanning 1.8 metres.
Q 18Which common livestock feed can be fatal to a moose because it cannot digest it?
Hay
Their expensive, varied diet is one reason they were never widely domesticated.
Q 19An experimental farm in which country keeps a tame moose herd mainly for its milk?
Russia
Kostroma Moose Farm has run since 1963 and supplies a nearby sanatorium.
Q 20In which months does the moose rut, or mating season, take place?
September and October
Mature bulls stop feeding entirely for about two weeks during the rut.
Q 24What is the Älgtest, better known in English by its animal name?
A vehicle swerving trial
Because a moose's centre of mass sits above the hood of most cars, collisions send the body through the windscreen.
Q 25Which deer-borne parasite is blamed for moose declines in the south of their range?
Brainworm
Liver flukes and winter ticks add to the toll, and milder winters help all three thrive.
Q 26Moose reintroduced in 1978 to which state had grown to a herd topping 2,400 by the 2010s?
Colorado
Isolated groups have also been verified as far south as Utah.
Q 27Ten moose were released into Fiordland in 1910 in a failed attempt to establish them where?
New Zealand
The last proven sighting there was in 1952.
Q 28How does a moose's hoof help it cross soft ground and snow?
It splays under load
The larger surface area also makes them more efficient swimmers.
Q 29How high at the shoulder does an average adult moose stand?
1.4 to 2.1 metres
That is more than 30 cm taller than the next-largest deer, the wapiti.
Q 30With good nutrition, what share of moose births can be twins?
30 to 40 percent
Newborn calves have reddish fur that turns brown as they mature.