JUST THE FACTS
Moose Facts
• Moose have a life span of 15 to 25 years.
• The average moose weighs between 550 to 700 kilograms.
• Moose are the largest member of the deer family.
• The flap of skin that hangs beneath a moose's throat is called a bell.
• Only males have a rack of antlers. They are flattened and range from 120 to
150 centimetres across and weigh 20 kilograms. Their antlers may have as many as 30 tines
(or spikes).
• Each year, antlers are shed in November or December and another, slightly
larger set begin to grow the next midsummer.
• Moose live in every Canadian province.
• Moose are very good swimmers and can easily swim 16 kilometres.
• Moose can run faster than 50 kilometres per hour.
• Having poor eyesight, moose rely on their keen sense of smell.
• A male moose is called a bull and a female moose is called a cow.
• The word moose comes from the Algonquin word mooswa, which means "twig-eater."
• Moose eat willow, birch and aspen twigs, horsetail, sedges, roots, pond weeds
and grasses, leaves, twigs, buds and the bark of some woody plants, as well as lichens, aquatic
plants and some of the taller herbaceous land plants.
• Moose can feed under water.
• Moose can dive more than five metres for food on a lake bottom.
• It is estimated that there are between 500,000 and 1 million moose in Canada.
• Unknown species of animals are referred to as cryptids.
• The term cryptozoology was coined by Dr. Bernard Heuvelmans to scientifically
describe his investigation of unknown species. It is not a recognized branch of zoology.
• Cryptozoology is commonly grouped with paranormal research.
• Many crytozoological phenomena are based on aboriginal legends.
• Cryptids range from Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster to ivory-billed woodpeckers
to more bizarre creatures, such as atmospheric beasts and werewolves.
• The first recorded sighting of a Sasquatch was in 1811 near what is now the
town of Jasper, Alta. A trader named David Thompson found some strange footprints, 36 centimetres
long and 20 centimetres wide, with four toes, in the snow.
• Bigfoot is said to stand 1.4 metres in height and weigh 58 kilograms and have
long black, coarse hair covering its entire body.
• Across western Canada, at least 19 water monsters have reputedly been spotted
in three of the four provinces. Alberta has no reported cases.
• Canada’s most famous water monster is Ogopogo of Lake Okanagan in the south
central interior of British Columbia.
• The first recorded sighting of Ogopogo by a caucasian was by Mrs. John Allison
in 1872.
• The monster called Sicopogo lives in B.C.’s Shuswap Lake, not far from Kamloops.
• Lake Memphrémagog — an international lake 113 kilometres east
of Montréal located on the Canada-U.S. border — is said to be inhabited by a
sea serpent.
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