Moose

(European moose; Alces alces) The moose is our country’s largest land mammal. It is found throughout the country except on Gotland. Over the past 20-30 years, the moose population has increased very sharply, and today we have a population of approximately 300,000 animals. There are several reasons for this increase, but hunting regulations and more abundant grazing due to new forestry methods (clear-cutting) are the primary ones. Bull moose have their largest antlers at 7-10 years of age, when they are considered ‘prime’. After this, the antlers decrease in size again and are then called ‘return’ (retur). There are two types of antlers: palmate antlers (skovelhorn) and cervine antlers (stånghorn).