I Never Realised How Huge Moose Are And Now I'm Freaking Out

    Also, the plural of moose is "moose," not "meese" or "mooses," which is mad.

    Natalya Lobanova
    by Natalya Lobanova

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Okay, all North Americans are rolling their eyes at me right now, but hear me out.

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    Just as a note for my fellow British people — in British English, a moose is the same as an elk, but in North America, an elk refers to a different species of deer.

    I've lived in London for most of my life, so I've never seen a real-life moose.

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    I mean, most of my ancestors were actual moose herders in Siberia, so maybe I should have some sort of genetic memory imprinted onto my genes like a big hoof print, but I digress.

    So allow me to freak the fuck out over how huge moose are!!

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    Also, over the fact that the plural of "moose" is just "moose," not "meese" or "mooses," which is also crazy to me.

    I thought they were the size of reindeer??

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    But they certainly are not!!

    I assumed that they're a harmless herbivore, but turns out they could absolutely, definitely fuck you up.

    Bri*Ani-Pals UN ⓥ @Bri70372823

    Hunter attacked by moose after shooting it twice,gets hoof print on forehead https://t.co/iDPtrj56YB #SweetRevenge

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    They can reach a height of 2.3m (7'6") from hoof to shoulder! That's not including head and antlers!

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    For comparison, a reindeer is at most 1.5m (4'9") from hoof to shoulder.

    Just look at the size of their hoofprints!

    Twitter: @WinchesterJonnE

    And their antlers can reach a span of 2m (6'6")!

    Gary Gray / Getty Images

    They're prehistoric!!!

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    No, really, they kind of are!

    Creative Commons / Dantheman9758 / Via commons.wikimedia.org

    They're closely related to the stag-moose, which was basically a moose that lived during the last ice age and was only slightly larger than modern moose. Unlike many modern animals that are related to prehistoric animals, the modern moose hasn't decreased much in size. Both the extinct stag-moose and the modern moose are classed as "megafauna," which basically just means they're really dang big!!

    Anyway, props to you, Canadians, for being totally casual about these crazy prehistoric beasts roaming your back gardens.

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