Caucasian moose

Caucasian moose
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Cervidae
Genus: Alces
Species: A. alces
Subspecies: A. a. caucasicus
Trinomial name
Alces alces caucasicus
(Weretschagin, 1955)

The Caucasian moose (Alces alces caucasicus) was a subspecies of moose found in the Caucasus Mountains of Eastern Europe and Asia Minor. It is widely believed to be extinct.

It has often been confused with the European elk, leading to debate regarding the possibility that some members of the species have survived; however, the European Elk lives in Scandinavia and the Baltic States, whereas the Caucasian moose lived in Eastern Europe and Western Siberia.

The species was quite common until the mid-19th century, when populations began to decrease.

Among its predators were the Asiatic lion (until the 10th century), Syrian brown bears, gray wolves, leopards and the Caspian tiger.

See also

External links


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, March 10, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.