Moose

About 1,800 moose live in Anchorage. You have to watch out for them when you go outside because they wander around neighborhoods and eat people's gardens and trees. They especially like lilac bushes. In the wintertime they eat twigs.

Sometimes there are moose downtown. You often see them next to the roads and in the parks. Most moose get to be 6.5 feet tall at the shoulders and can weigh 1,200 pounds or more. Bull moose have big antlers that they grow new every spring. Antlers can be up to six feet wide and weigh as much as 85 pounds. When a big moose like that goes through thick bushes, he has to turn his head to the side. Lots of times you see mama moose with their babies.

Moose like to come into Anchorage to have their babies because there aren't so many bears and wolves as there are in the mountains. At least there didn't use to be. Now that the bears and wolves know there are lots of moose calves in town, they come in more often for fast food.

A lot of moose are killed by cars, especially when it's dark. They can be beside the road in the dark and walk out right in front of cars. They like roads because it's hard to walk around in deep snow. When the road is icy it is hard for cars to stop. There are signs that say, "Give moose a brake."

Usually moose are just pests but they can be very dangerous, especially mamas with babies. They have even chased and killed people. When you see a moose, you should not run. Keep your eyes on the moose and back up slowly. Never go near a baby moose or between a cow and calf moose. You should not feed moose.

One moose in Melissa's neighborhood kneeled down to lick the salt off the road. At Christmas, Melissa's family couldn't leave the house for several hours because there was a moose in the driveway.