Moose

A cow moose and her calf are watched by a grizzly bear.
A cow moose and her calves are being watched by a grizzly bear in Denali National Park and Preserve.

NPS

Moose tend to live in forested areas that are often close to lakes and marshes and other waterbodies. They travel seasonally for calving, rutting, and wintering areas, sometimes covering as much as 60 miles. In the winter they remain in their territory, often in willow marshes, and form "yards"- they create paths in the deep snow as they paw for food. During the summer they graze on grasses, forbs, underwater vegetation, bushes, coniferous needles and deciduous leaves. Moose are very large, fast animals and are aggressive when disturbed, especially during the rut in late September to early October.

Adult moose can weigh between 700 and 1,400 pounds and are an important subsistence resource for many Alaskan families.

Monitoring Moose

  • An aerial view of a bull moose in the snow.
    Arctic Network

    Moose are an integral component of the boreal ecosystem in Arctic parklands.

  • A cow moose in fall vegetation.
    Southwest Alaska Network

    Although not currently being monitored by the Southwest Alaska Network, we do work in cooperation with the state in fall surveys.

  • A cow moose moves through a snow-covered forest.
    Central Alaska Network

    Moose are considered to be good indicators of long-term habitat change.

Learn more about moose in Alaska

Showing results 1-7 of 7

  • Denali National Park & Preserve

    Large Mammals in Denali: How Many Are There?

    • Locations: Denali National Park & Preserve
    six sheet in front of a large glacier and mountains

    Science Summary (2014) - Check out a yearly update of population estimates for "the Big Five" species of Denali - wolves, caribou, Dall sheep, moose and bears.

  • Yukon - Charley Rivers National Preserve

    Improving how we estimate moose abundance

    • Locations: Yukon - Charley Rivers National Preserve
    An aerial view of moose in a snowy landscape, part of aerial wildlife surveys.

    Read the abstract and get the link to a published article that describes an improved spatial model for estimating wildlife population abundance, based on moose surveys: Schmidt, J. H., M. D. Cameron, K. Joly, J. M. Pruszenski, J. H. Reynolds, and M. S. Sorum. 2022. Bayesian spatial modeling of moose count data: Increasing estimator efficiency and exploring ecological hypothesis. The Journal of Wildlife Management : e22220.

  • Moose: Did You Know?

    • Locations: Alaska Public Lands, Gates Of The Arctic National Park & Preserve, Yukon - Charley Rivers National Preserve
    • Offices: Natural Resources Program - Region 11
    Bull moose bedded in vegetation

    Did You Know factoids about moose in Interior Alaska National Parks

  • Moose Surveys

    • Locations: Denali National Park & Preserve, Wrangell - St Elias National Park & Preserve, Yukon - Charley Rivers National Preserve
    a moose cow and calf in brush

    Science Summary (2012) - By estimating moose numbers, wildlife managers can understand if the local population of animals can be considered 'natural and healthy.' The information is also used in crafting hunting regulations. Moose populations also indicate the biological integrity of an area.

  • Denali National Park & Preserve

    Moose Surveys and Subsistence Users

    • Locations: Denali National Park & Preserve
    a mother moose and her two calves graze on flowers

    Moose are an important part of life for subsistence users in Alaska and annual moose surveys allow the park to have a greater understanding of these critical creatures.

  • Denali National Park & Preserve

    Interrelationships of Denali's Large Mammal Community

    • Locations: Denali National Park & Preserve
    a bear looking at a moose and her calf

    Denali is home to a daily life and death drama for many animals, though the 'big five' mammal species stand out in the minds of many visitors. In addition to the opportunities for viewing or photographing Interior Alaska’s large mammals, Denali is a great natural laboratory to study the species and their interrelationships. Unlike the rest of Interior Alaska, the Denali carnivore/ungulate community has been little affected by human harvests for several decades.

  • Denali National Park & Preserve

    Rutting Behavior of Moose

    • Locations: Denali National Park & Preserve
    two bulll moose wading in a pond

    Weighing up to 1,600 pounds each, bull moose spar and sometimes brutally fight for a few weeks each autumn for the right to mate with females.

Tags: moose wildlife denali subsistence moose survey biological science alaska park science aps v5 i1 research
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Last updated: July 15, 2019

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