These have been described as resembling loud coughing noises. If a moose is angry, it makes short, deep-toned grunts produced at two or three-second intervals. In the breeding season, female moose use extended calls specifically to let bull moose know they’re in the area.īull moose often grunt when they’re trying to expel other male moose from their territory or if they’re looking for a female. When female moose are communicating with their young (calves), they generally use low grunt noises. In both species, the males (bulls) are larger than the females (cows), but when comparing Moose and Elk, Moose are much larger. Let’s explore the main differences between moose and elk. The elk is the largest member of the Cervus elaphus family. The moose is the largest deer on the planet, while the North American elk is the second largest. Moose, on the other hand, have the species name Alces Alces, so each is a distinct species of deer. The North American Elk’s species name is Cervus Canadensis. This group of animals are hoofed ruminants of the order Artiodactyla … but that’s a lot to remember so in plain English, cervids are known simply as deer. Like White-Tailed Deer and Mule Deer, Elk and Moose are both cervids, or members of the Cervidae family.

Let’s start our elk vs moose comparison by exploring some of the main differences between these large deer species below.

We will discuss the differences between North American elk and moose. Yet there are many differences between these two animals. The moose and the North American elk (Wapiti) have similarities.

Moose v elk