---
title: "Moose"
description: "Alces alces — Mammiferi. The moose or elk is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only extant species in the genus Alces."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/moose
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Moose

> Alces alces — Mammiferi. The moose or elk is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only extant species in the genus Alces.

- Scientific name: *Alces alces*
- Category: `mammals` (Mammiferi)
- Habitats: `forest` (Foresta), `freshwater` (Laghi e fiumi)
- iNaturalist observations: 71521
- Wikidata: [Q35517](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q35517)
- iNaturalist taxon: [522193](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/522193)

## Names

- en: Moose
- de: Elch
- es: Alce
- fr: Élan
- nl: Eland
- pt: Alce
- pl: Łoś euroazjatycki

## Countries with the most observations

US (29444), CA (16725), RU (6087), NO (1648), SE (1144), FI (943), PL (871), UA (405), LT (214), BY (205), DK (83), EE (71)

## Summary

The moose or elk is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only extant species in the genus Alces. It is also the tallest, and the second-largest, land animal in North America, falling short only to the American bison in body mass. Most adult male moose have broad, palmate antlers; other members of the deer family have pointed antlers with a dendritic ("twig-like") configuration. Moose inhabit the circumpolar boreal forests or temperate broadleaf and mixed forests of the Northern Hemisphere, thriving in cooler, temperate areas as well as subarctic climates.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose

## Photo

![Moose](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/moose/medium.jpg)

Photo: jeffcherry · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/234113061

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/moose?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).