Species: Moose (Alces alces)

What to look for

  1. Length. About 4.5 to 5.5 inches (11 to 14 cm) for the hoof itself, which is roughly double a white-tailed deer print at 2.5 to 3 inches (6 to 8 cm).
  2. Shape. Two crescent-shaped halves side by side, pointed toward the direction of travel.
  3. Depth. The tips leave a deeper impression than the rest of the track in snow or on soft ground, under the weight of the animal.
  4. Dewclaws. Two of them, often printing behind the hoof in snow or mud.
  5. Company it keeps. Look along the edges of willow bottoms and aspen or pine forest, where browsed willow and large droppings appear on the same ground as the tracks.

Easily confused with

White-tailed deer tracks. A deer print is 2.5 to 3 inches (6 to 8 cm), roughly half the length, and reads as a small split heart rather than two long crescents.

Elk tracks. Elk leave a shorter print than an adult moose. Anything much under 4.5 inches (11 cm) is not an adult moose track, whatever else it may be.

Where and when

Wildlife agencies in Alaska, Maine and Colorado all publish moose track guidance. Look along the borders of willow bottoms and aspen or pine forest, and near water, since moose are strong swimmers. The rut runs from late September into November and calves arrive from mid-May through early June. Snow or mud gives the clearest track detail.

Keep your distance

Never approach a moose closely; watch and photograph from a distance with a telephoto lens or binoculars. Colorado Parks and Wildlife advises that if one charges you should run and put a large object such as a boulder, tree or vehicle between you, and your own state agency publishes the guidance for your area.

Related signs

  • Deer tracks: A deer track is a split, upside-down heart: two pointed toes side by side, symmetrical, about 2.5 to 3 inches long in Maine's guidance and up to 4 inches in Missouri's.
  • Bear tracks: A black bear leaves two very different prints.
  • Deer scat: Deer scat is a scattered pile of dark oval pellets, each about 0.5 to 1 inch long and 0.2 to 0.5 inch across, shiny when fresh and holding no recognizable pieces of food.

Sources