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Moose In Anchorage Alaska Photos provided by  |
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MOOSE FACTS
by Glenn Walnum
Moose, the largest animal of the deer family, can be found in the colder areas of the northern continental US, Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia, Russia, Siberia, Mongolia, and Northern China. In the US Alaska, Maine and Wyoming have the largest populations, but Colorado, Minnesota, Idaho, New Hampshire, Montana, Utah, Vermont and Washington have moose in fewer numbers. The approximate population of moose world wide as of the late 1990's was 2 million. Canada has the largest population with 830,000 followed by Russia with 435,000. Third in the list is the American Moose with 255,000. fifth 200,000 Swedish moose, sixth 125,000 Norwegian moose and last 90,000 Finnish moose
One thought is that the name Moose originated from the Northern American Indian Algonquian word "mus" or "moos" thought to mean eater of twigs. In other research on the name's origin, Moose came from the Natik word "moos," which was derived from the Proto-Algonquian mooswa, with the interpretation "the animal that strips bark off of trees."
The latin or scientific name for the species is Alces alces meaning Elk. In Europe and Asia Alces alces are called elk while here in America we call them Moose.
There are four subspecies in North America. Alces alces americana, is the moose found in New England. Alces alces gigas, the Alaska Yukon Moose the largest subspecies of moose.
Works of art made from antlers.
