Mother Moose Chases a Grizzly Showing Just How Huge They Are

Written by Cindy Rasmussen
Updated: October 18, 2023
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In a match up between a moose and a grizzly bear you would think the bear would win, hands down. But not if the moose is protecting her baby! Grizzly bears are one of the largest bears in the world, but in this video you will see just how huge a moose is in comparison. Watch as a mother moose chases a grizzly showing just how huge they are!

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A size comparison of a moose up against an elk, horse, and human

From the first scene you know there is going to be trouble! The video opens with a mother and baby moose along the edge of a lake. At the bottom of the screen, you can see a large grizzly bear taking a step toward the baby moose!

Check Out The Full Video Below!

The mother senses the trouble but keeps her cool, casually looking around a bit. The bear seems to be cautiously jockeying to get a few steps closer. He looks like he is ready to pounce on the baby moose.

As the grizzly takes a small step in the direction of the baby, the mother moose sways her head in its direction and stares it down for a second. You can see at this point just how huge they are! The mother moose looks bigger than the grizzly bear.

Grizzly bears can get to be 8 feet tall when standing on their hind legs, and 5 feet tall at the shoulder. The males can weigh 500-900 pounds. Moose can get to be 6 feet tall at the shoulder and weigh 1200-1600 pounds. If you had a 6-foot-tall man standing next to a moose, the head of the moose would tower over the man. Who knew that moose were that much bigger than a bear?

Baby moose, on the other hand, are only about 2-3 feet tall at the shoulder, similar to the size of an adult golden retriever. So you can see in the video how the baby moose could easily be killed and eaten by the grizzly bear. But the mother moose won’t have any of that. She seems steps away from the baby for a second, maybe hoping the baby would follow her, then circles back around. The grizzly takes another step toward the baby and the baby moose moves closer to its mother. The mother’s head swings up in the direction of the bear, just as the bear makes a quick movement toward the moose. The mother moose immediately charges out of the water at the grizzly, with the bear quickly retreating.

The mother moose checks on her baby to make sure it is all right. The camera pans out to see the bear in the distance, about 50 feet away, looking a little defeated. You can see the bear waiting, trying to decide if he should try to attack again. The mother moose steps back on the shoreline looking in the direction of the bear. The bear stands its ground. The mother then decides to step up on the road and walks toward the bear, the bear gets the message and starts running away. It saunters a bit and looks back.

This is when you see why the mother moose is so protective, a second baby moose shows up! She was protecting both of her babies! Just to make sure the bear doesn’t have second thoughts, the mother charges in the direction of the bear. The mother moose chases the grizzly towards the nearby woods. Mother and babies are reunited and safe!

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Michael Liggett/Shutterstock.com


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About the Author

I'm a Wildlife Conservation Author and Journalist, raising awareness about conservation by teaching others about the amazing animals we share the planet with. I graduated from the University of Minnesota-Morris with a degree in Elementary Education and I am a former teacher. When I am not writing I love going to my kids' soccer games, watching movies, taking on DIY projects and running with our giant Labradoodle "Tango".

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