The air around me is heavy with rain and salt. I feel far from Eagle County’s dry and steady sunshine. Here the Alaskan coastline changes quickly with the tide’s daily rhythm. New paths and creatures emerge as the ocean recedes. The closer I look, the more the beach reveals. Snails, mussels, and worms move in slow motion, forming shapes and patterns I’ve never seen before. After many hours, the sun sneaks through, and my eyes travel past the rocky beach to tufts of grass framing massive logs. Smoothed by wind and water they lay like sleeping statues, pieces of a forest far away. The landscape behind them is lush and green. Finally, I see something familiar, something that brings me back to Colorado - a mother moose and her calf.
Seeing moose here made me wonder – how is it different being a moose in coastal Alaska versus being a moose in Colorado? These two places couldn't be more different yet both sustain moose? How do these differences shape not only the way each moose lives, but also how we live alongside them?
Mother and calf Alaska-Yukon moose.
Moose are the world’s largest species in the family Cervidae, which also includes deer and elk. Within the species Alces, four subspecies of moose evolved in North America. The Alaska-Yukon subspecies of moose, averaging 6-7 feet at the shoulder, is the biggest, while Colorado’s Shiras subspecies is over a foot shorter. Why are the Alaska-Yukon moose so large?
In Alaska’s coastal lowlands, willows, birch, and aquatic vegetation offer a year-round buffet, allowing these animals to grow quite large. The cold, dim winters favor larger bodies that conserve heat efficiently, giving the Alaska-Yukon moose a size advantage. Their impressive stature also helps them fend off large predators such as wolves and bears.
The Shiras moose found in Colorado have a different story. Historically they were not common here. Native to Colorado’s neighbors, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, the Shiras moose evolved in environments with fewer food options, which helps explain their smaller size. Records dating back to 1850 tell us that moose wandered into northern Colorado from Wyoming, but these visits were fleeting, and they never established a stable population. According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), that changed in the late 1970s, when CPW formally introduced moose from Wyoming and Utah, aiming to create new opportunities for hunting and wildlife viewing. The newcomers quickly made homes in willow rich wetlands, beaver ponds, and riparian areas.
Colorado Shiras moose enjoying a swim.
Because moose are relatively new to Colorado, and have lived in Alaska for thousands of years, the relationship between humans and moose is very different in the two places. In Alaska, moose and people share a long history of respect and subsistence. Native Alaskans have been hunting moose for thousands of years, relying on them as one of the most important sources of food. Today regulated hunting remains a common practice. A single moose can provide hundreds of pounds of meat, sustaining families through the long dark winters.
In Colorado, moose hunting is highly restricted. In our backyard, encounters with moose are more often marked by surprise and admiration rather than necessity for survival.
Whether towering along Alaska’s coastal hillsides or browsing Colorado’s willow lined creeks, moose are shaped by the landscapes they call home, and in turn, they shape how we live alongside them. In Alaska, their presence is woven into the rhythms of survival, tradition and sustenance. In Colorado, their arrival is a relatively new chapter, one that invites awe and careful coexistence. Learn more about moose in Eagle County by joining a Naturalist for a guided nature walk!
Sarah Noyes is a Foley Graduate Fellow at Walking Mountains. When she is not exploring the wonders of the outdoors with students, she enjoys skiing, swimming, painting and making soup.