how big is a moose?

Most people know moose are big, but the actual numbers are startling once you line them up against familiar objects and even professional athletes. From shoulder height to antler span and sheer body mass, these animals push the limits of what we expect from a member of the deer family.

To answer how big a moose really is, I need to look at height, weight, subspecies differences, and how they compare with humans, cars, and other wildlife. The result is a portrait of an animal that is not just tall, but long, heavy, and built for life in some of the harshest landscapes in North America and beyond.

Moose as the giants of the deer family

Moose are not just large deer, they are the largest extant species in the entire deer family, a status that shapes everything from their behavior to the habitats they dominate. Biologists classify Moose under the scientific name Alces alces, and that lineage has produced animals that tower over whitetails, elk, and caribou in both height and mass. They are also described as the tallest and second-largest mammals in parts of Northern regions where they live, which means that in many boreal forests, nothing on four legs stands higher at the shoulder.

That scale is obvious even in casual encounters. Wildlife agencies in Alaska describe how adult animals dominate wetlands, river corridors, and young forests, with their size allowing them to browse high shrubs and aquatic plants that smaller deer cannot easily reach, a pattern reflected in official moose profiles. Social media posts from people who stumble on these animals in the wild often echo the same shock, with one Maine wildlife group sharing a sighting that simply emphasized how a single Moose filled the frame and dwarfed the surrounding trees. When an animal can make a mature spruce look small, it is clear we are dealing with a true giant of its family.

Height: as tall as a front door or an NBA player

To grasp moose height, it helps to compare them with everyday benchmarks like a standard front door or a professional basketball player. Wildlife writers have pointed out that a big bull can stand as tall as the average front door or an NBA player, and even note that a mature animal can be about 8 inches taller than Jason Momoa. That means you are looking at a shoulder height in the neighborhood of 6 feet or more, before you even factor in the head and antlers that rise above that line.

Official hunting guidance from Alaska backs up that impression with hard numbers, describing how Full-grown males, or bulls, stand almost 6 ft (1.8 m) tall at the shoulder. Other descriptions of Moose note that adult males can reach up to two meters at the shoulder, which pushes them well into the range of the tallest humans on record. When you picture a two-meter-tall animal on four legs, with a head and antlers that can add another couple of feet, you start to understand why people who meet one on a trail or a road often describe the experience as intimidating.

Weight: hundreds of kilograms of muscle and bone

Height is only half the story, because moose carry an extraordinary amount of weight on that tall frame. Detailed species accounts explain that adult Males normally weigh from 380 to 700 kg (838 to 1,543 lb), while females typically weigh 200 to 490 kg (441 to 1,080 lb). Those figures mean that even a relatively small cow outweighs most people several times over, and a big bull can rival a compact car in mass.

Regional data from New York’s wildlife agency adds another layer, noting that adult male (bull) moose in that state average 6 feet tall at the shoulder and can weigh as much as 1,400 pounds. In Alaska, hunting information describes bulls in prime condition weighing from 1,200 to 1,600 lb, which puts them at the upper end of the global range. When I compare those numbers with common vehicles, a large bull can weigh more than a 2024 Honda Civic, and that mass is concentrated in a body that can pivot quickly in deep snow or thick brush.

Subspecies and the outsized Alaska-Yukon moose

Not all moose are built exactly the same, and subspecies differences help explain why some regions report especially massive animals. In North America, wildlife writers describe four subspecies, and they emphasize that if you really want to know how big a moose is, you have to get more specific about which population you are looking at, a point underscored when they note that There are four subspecies of moose in North America. That variation shows up in everything from antler shape to average body size.

Among those, the Alaska-Yukon race stands out. One viral post spells it out bluntly, calling Moose the largest member of the deer family and explaining that The Alaska–Yukon race, identified scientifically as Alces alces Alces gigas, is the largest of all of these creatures. Separate biological summaries of Alaska moose describe how they are sexually dimorphic, with males being 40% heavier than females, and note that Size and weight figures for Male Alaska moose can exceed 2 meters at the shoulder. Put together, those details show that the biggest bulls in the far north are not just large for deer, they are among the heaviest land mammals in their ecosystems.

Antlers, length, and other dimensions that add to the impression

When people talk about moose size, they often focus on height and weight, but antlers and body length add just as much to the visual impact. Mature bulls grow broad, palmate antlers that can stretch wider than a person is tall, and while exact spans vary, the effect is to turn an already tall animal into a moving piece of architecture. Species accounts that describe Moose anatomy emphasize that only males grow these antlers, and that they shed and regrow them annually, investing significant energy into structures that can weigh tens of kilograms.

Body length also matters. Descriptions from Alaska’s wildlife agency note that adult animals have long, sloping backs and deep chests, with long legs that allow them to wade through wetlands and deep snow, details that appear in official moose biology summaries. When I picture a bull that is nearly 2 meters at the shoulder, with a body length that can approach 3 meters from nose to tail and antlers that fan out like satellite dishes, it becomes clear why even a single animal can dominate a clearing or a roadside. The combination of height, length, and antler spread makes moose feel even larger than the raw numbers suggest.

How moose size compares with humans, cars, and other wildlife

Putting moose side by side with familiar reference points helps translate abstract measurements into something more intuitive. When wildlife writers say a big bull is as tall as a front door or an NBA player and about 8 inches taller than Jason Momoa, they are essentially telling you that a moose can look a professional basketball forward in the eye. Add antlers and the animal suddenly towers over even the tallest humans, which explains why people who encounter one on a hiking trail often describe feeling physically small.

Compared with other wildlife, moose also stand apart. Species summaries that call them the largest extant deer and the tallest and second-largest mammals in parts of Northern ecosystems make clear that even large elk or caribou do not quite match their combination of height and mass. In terms of weight, a 1,200 to 1,600 pound bull rivals or exceeds many compact SUVs, and New York’s figure of up to 1,400 pounds for a bull in the Northeast shows that even outside Alaska, these animals are in a different league. When I imagine a moose standing next to a Subaru Forester or a Toyota RAV4, its back roughly level with the roofline, the phrase “really big deer” starts to feel like an understatement.

Habitat, behavior, and why being huge is an advantage

Moose did not become enormous by accident, their size is tightly linked to the environments they occupy and the food they rely on. In northern states like Maine, wildlife officials describe how Habitat in the northern forestlands, Serving as the core range for moose in Maine, provides ideal conditions because of regenerating forests, wetlands, and abundant browse. A tall body and long legs let moose reach high shrubs and wade into ponds and bogs to feed on aquatic plants, resources that smaller deer either cannot reach or cannot exploit as efficiently.

Size also plays into behavior and survival. Large bulls use their mass and antlers to compete during the rut, and their bulk helps them conserve heat during long northern winters, a pattern that fits classic ecological rules about body size in cold climates. Official descriptions from Alaska’s wildlife agency note that adult animals move through deep snow and dense willow thickets that would slow smaller ungulates, a point reflected in their detailed moose ecology notes. When I look at those patterns, it is clear that being huge is not just a quirk, it is a key adaptation that lets moose dominate cold, wet, and forested landscapes.

Human encounters: from roadside awe to safety concerns

The same traits that make moose impressive in the wild can create serious challenges when they intersect with human infrastructure. In northern New England, New York, and Alaska, drivers regularly see moose along highways, and the combination of a 6-foot shoulder height and a weight that can reach 1,400 pounds or more turns collisions into high-risk events. Because the animal’s legs are so long, a car that hits a moose often takes the impact at windshield level, with the body coming into the passenger compartment rather than over the hood, a dynamic that makes these crashes more dangerous than typical deer strikes.

At the same time, many people who encounter moose at a safe distance describe a sense of awe. A viral video that circulated widely showed a Moose walking past a vehicle in Maine, with the animal’s back nearly level with the roof and its head and antlers towering above, prompting comments about how viewers had never realized just how big these animals are. Another clip highlighting Moose size framed them as giants of the deer family, with adult males towering up to two meters at the shoulder and tipping the scales at over half a ton. Those reactions underscore a simple reality: until you see a moose next to a car, a house, or a person, it is hard to fully appreciate the scale described in field guides.

Why the question “how big is a moose?” keeps surprising people

Even with all these figures, the question of moose size keeps catching people off guard, in part because the numbers are so far outside everyday experience. Lifestyle coverage that digs into the topic notes that if you really want to know “how big is a moose,” you have to move beyond a single average and look at subspecies, sex, and region, which is why they stress that But if you really want to know, you have to get more specific and that North American populations alone include four distinct subspecies. When I line up those details with biological data showing bulls at 380 to 700 kg and cows at 200 to 490 kg, it becomes clear that there is no single “typical” moose, only a range of very large animals.

Part of the surprise also comes from how moose look in motion. Official descriptions of Moose behavior emphasize their long, gangly legs, humped shoulders, and overhanging nose, features that can make them seem almost awkward in still photos. Yet field reports from Alaska and Maine describe how quickly they can trot through deep snow or swim across broad rivers, feats that are only possible because of their powerful muscles and large lungs, details that appear in state-level moose profiles. When I put all of this together, the answer to how big a moose is becomes more than a single measurement: it is a combination of height, weight, antlers, and presence that makes these animals some of the most imposing figures in the northern forests.