A moose can stand in a river where a wolf would be swept away, and they are much faster swimmers than any of our local predators.
Water is also a refuge in another way – with their long legs, moose will sometimes seek the safety of water to avoid predators. The cold waters of the GYE provide a welcome, and perhaps essential, refuge from the heat of a typical summer day. They are also prone to overheating – they are stressed by summer temperatures as low as 60F, though that depends on cloud cover. In summer, aquatic vegetation and riparian plants are the majority of their diet. So can moose really dive five to six meters? But a moose has hooves and hardly any tail to speak of. They are definitely capable of diving to the bottom of a deep pond in search of food – their webbed feet are propellers, and their thick tails are rudders. But is it true? If you look at all the mammals that excel in swimming the waters of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), beavers and otters stand out as the best furred swimmers. “Did you know that moose can dive as deep as five meters?” This factoid is repeated by educators across the circumpolar range of Alces alces, and often is received amazement and maybe a few chuckles from the audience as they picture the gangly, awkward moose diving to a depth about twice as deep as the bottom of an average backyard pool. Professional Development and ConsultingĬan Moose Really Dive? Photo courtesy of the Hastings Museum.
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