Meet the moose in Glasriket’s Moose Park

Facts about moose

Meeting Europe’s largest land animal in Glasriket’s Moose Park is an overwhelming experience. Moose have walked the earth for about two million years. We have collected some facts which may be useful to know before you meet them.

  • There are about 350,000 wild moose in Sweden and about 100,000 are shot during the hunting season each year.
  • Moose can be up to 2.20 metres tall at the shoulders and weigh up to an impressive 800 kg.
  • They have a life span of up to 25 years.
  • Moose are ruminants and have four stomachs.
  • Their rutting season is in September – October and moose cows are pregnant for about 235 days. The calves are usually born in May – June.
  • Bull moose shed their antlers during December – March and new ones already start to grow after four weeks.
  • The antlers’ velvet is shed before the rutting season. At this moment the bull moose are ready to fight each other and the strongest will win the cow.
  • Moose have a sense of smell four times stronger than that of a hunting dog and 200 times stronger than us humans.
  • Their nostrils are placed far apart. Researchers believe that this gives moose the unusual ability to calculate an object’s position in three dimensions.
  • Moose have a sense of hearing which is 60 times greater than that of humans.
  • Their eyesight in daylight is worse than ours. However, moose are extremely sensitive to movement around them and have a 360-degree field of vision.
  • Wild moose are very elusive. They will normally discover you first and shy away long before you see them. It is therefore very difficult to meet moose in the wild.

BOOK MOOSE SAFARI

Our moose

Emil – born 2014

Emil is a kind-hearted moose that we bought for the park. He is a good bull that enjoys the enclosure. Emil has already produced a number of calves.

Ymer – born 2014

Playful Ymer has antlers that point upwards. He keeps the other bulls in shape during the winter time.

Thor – born 2016

Son of Embla and Oden. Grows at a tremendous rate. A friendly moose calf that likes to frolic with Kalle who is the same age.

Kalle – born 2016

Our little bundle of charm is really growing up now. Many visitors are enchanted and spellbound by his lovely and somewhat clumsy charm.

Embla – born 2010

A very friendly moose that loves her minder Micke (our safari guide). Embla is a considerate moose mother who protects her calves every minute of the day. The calves in the photo are newly born and are getting to their feet for the first time.

Madeleine – born 2013

She became a mother for the first time in 2016. Madeleine has taught us the expression “babyfree time” as she sometimes wandered off unperturbed from her new-born Kalle and came back after a few hours to suckle her calf. We believe this is because she feels very safe

Silvia – born 2013

Silvia got her name because of her unusually beautiful silvery colour. She is a rather shy moose who sometimes likes to withdraw a little. Silvia became a mother for the first time in 2016. She is a very protective mother who looks well after her calves.

Oden, 2010 – 2016

Our wonderful bull moose who sadly left this life during the autumn of 2016. He fathered many beautiful calves and his legacy can be felt in the moose park. This photo is from 2015 when Oden had 28-tine antlers of the shovel horn type. His weight was estimated at about 700 kg.