What Is Alaska's State Animal?
- In the spring of 1997, students at Kalifornsky Beach Elementary School in Soldonta, south of Anchorage, embarked on a project to propose a land mammal as the official state animal. There were 412 votes cast and 230 of them proposed the moose. State Sen. John Torgerson sponsored State Bill 265 naming the moose the official state land mammal. Then Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles signed the bill into law on May 1, 1998.
- The range of moose in Alaska extends from the Unuk River in the southeast to the Colville River on the Arctic Slope. Moose prefer second-growth birth forests, recently burned areas revived with stands of aspen and willow, major rivers and timberland plateaus, according to the Alaska Office of Economic Development. Moose do not live on the islands in Prince William Sound or the Bering Sea or the Aleutians or Kodiak islands.
- Moose are the largest members of the deer family. Alaska-Yukon moose, or Alces alces gigas, is the largest of all moose, with adult males weighing 1,200 to 1,600 lbs. and females weighing 800 to 1,300 lbs., according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
- As a potential source of protein in a state where imported foods are costly, moose have played an important role in the state's economic development. Athabascan Indians used moose for food and to create clothing and implements. Professional hunters supplied moose meat to mining camps, notes the ADF&G. In modern times, more people hunt moose than any other big-game species in Alaska. Hunters harvest 6,000 to 8,000 moose annually, translating to 3.5 million lbs. of meat. Moose also help bring tourists to Alaska, who stop by highways to photograph them.
- Female or cow moose breed at 28 months usually, with calves born around the end of May or early June. Cows give birth to twins and sometimes triplets. Calves will grow more than 10 times their birth weight in their first five months. Moose rarely live more than 16 years, notes the ADF&G.
- Alaska's state bird is the willow ptarmigan, its state fish is the giant king salmon and its state marine mammal is the bowhead whale. The state flower is the forget-me-not.
- Keep 50 feet away from any moose you see in Alaska. They can kick in a forward direction with their front hooves, and cow moose especially are protective of their young.