You walk outside. It’s dawn and foggy you can barely see anything. You see a big brown animal with antlers. So you walk closer and closer, but you can’t get any closer or it would be spooked. So you pull out your animal guide and look at the moose and deer page, and pick out little features through the fog on the animal. You see dark brown fur, antlers, and a weird skin-like outgrowth hanging from it’s neck. Using all of your previous knowledge, the guide, and experience you rack your brain trying to figure out what this animal is.
Moose and deer may look a lot alike but they have several differences. Moose have dark brown fur, while deer have brown fur that turns gray in the winter. Moose and deer both have antlers, but moose have bigger antlers that can grow up to 5 feet across. Deer grow to around 3 feet tall and moose grow to 6 to 10 feet. Deer have ears that can move in a 180 degree angle that can pick high frequency sounds. A moose has poor eye sight, so they rely on their sense of smell.
Moose and deer both eat berries, bark, grass, and other woodland plants. However, moose eat allege from the bottom of lakes. They have teeth on the top and bottom of their mouth, while deer only have teeth on the bottom jaw and a hard plate on the top. Deer graze through fields and scrape trees in the woods. Moose travel through the woods and browse for food, but they also scrape trees.
Moose and deer typically live in the woods and the meadows. Unlike moose, deer is known to starve rather then leave their domain. The moose is active all day and it’s most active at dawn. The deer sleep in tall weeds; they beat these weeds down so they can lay on it. Bucks most often sleep on the right side facing downwind, which allows them to detect danger. The moose is a solitary animal except for during mating season.
As the fog begins to lift, your brain becomes clearer. All at once you recognize the animal as the familiar moose. Only moose have the dewlap on their neck. Deer might not have a dewlap, but they have lighter fur. Moose and deer have many differences and a few similarities.
