Moose vary in size and shape. Their colour varies from a little brown to a dusty black depending on the season and age of the animal. Calves, in comparison, are often a light rusty colour.

Moose have long, lighter-colored legs with the front pair longer than the hind ones. Other features include a long nose, drooping lip, hump at the shoulders and small tail.

Males weigh on average over 550 kg and females often more than 400 kg. New born calves weigh around 15 kg but quickly increase in size by its first winter.

Only the males have antlers, massive flattened ones averaging 160cm across and 20kg in weight. These antlers have as many as 30 Tines (or spikes), the shape differing from animal to animal.

A young moose's first pair of antlers grow from two tiny bumps on their head that they have had from birth. A bull of about a year old can be seen on the right with the first signs of antler growth visible.

Mature males shed their antlers once a year in November/December and replace them with new larger ones in the Spring. They are formed of living tissue supplied by blood through a network of vessels covered with a soft smooth skin called velvet. Eventually the tissue solidifies, the velvet is scraped off and the antlers become completely formed of mineralised dead matter. Their main function is for display during the mating season and dominance within the herd.