I. R.

I am very interested in moose. Always have been. Always will be. In fact, I think the moose is probably my favourite living animal. I have never seen an actual moose, but I have seen several photos.

Whenever I want information on moose I usually go to Mooseworld - which is the home of 'authoritative moose facts'. There are several other pretty good moose sites about too, such as Go Moose! and Moose Moose Moosey Moose.

Here are some interesting facts about moose:

• Moose are large even-toed herbivorous mammals, the largest of the deer family.
• Only the males have antlers.
• Moose have 27 pairs of chromosomes compared with 23 pairs in humans.
• There are, currently, approximately no moose in Yorkshire.
• Moose poo looks like this.
• Each year in Alaska, there are more moose-related deaths than bear-related deaths.
• However, if I had to fight either a moose or a bear I would probably choose to fight a moose.
• The moose can run 35 miles per hour and can easily swim 10 miles.
• Moose have stupid looking skinny legs and knobbly knees and they walk like idiots.
• The best time of year to spot moose is from mid-May through to July, along major roads, where they like to lick salt from the road surface while dodging trucks.
• Moose are not very intelligent.
• Sometimes moose like to hang around near ponds for no reason.
• Only one type of tranquilizer works on moose.
• Moose absolutely hate dogs. Dogs are the mortal enemies of moose. If a moose picks up the smell of a dog in its territory it will track it down (over several days if necessary), never resting until the offending dog has been slain.

There are some pretty good moose safety tips here. The best pieces of advice, I think, are these:

• Never make eye contact with a moose.
• Never throw anything including snowballs at a moose.
• If you see someone about to be charged by a moose, making a loud noise or honking(?) might distract the animal long enough for the victim to take evasive action. Don't run up to the moose.
• Try to get behind a tree if a moose charges. You can run around the tree better than it can.
• Alternatively, kick the moose in the nuts.