ISALC: ESL 382: Computer Applications - Fall 2000
Hatchet: Student Survival Guide

Before reading Hatchet, I knew that the moose looked like a deer, and ate grass. So moose was not a dangerous animal to me, but in this book, Brian was attacked by moose and almost drowned in the lake. I was surprised by that accident. How did an accident like that happen? So I wanted to do some investigation about the moose.

This is why the moose was important in Hatchet:

Brian thought that the moose was not a dangerous animal, just like me. So he could relax and not worry about the moose, but after that he was attacked and almost drowned in the lake by the moose. It was very interesting information for me and Brian. Actually, after that accident, Brian might be more careful and more sensitive, because the moose accident was the most dangerous accident during Brian's life in the forest.

After reading Hatchet and completing my Internet research, this is what I have learned about the moose:

Some of you already know some information about the moose. It is a herbivore, looks a little like a deer, and is a mammal. Some people do not know that a moose is not exactly the same as a deer, because a moose is bigger than a deer.The size of the body is 2.5-3m and tail is 5-7.5 cm. They live in coniferous forests, often near lakes and rivers, and they are affiliated with mammals. Their diet is usually plants, but sometimes they can eat small animals. And their habitation area is very wide: N. Europe and Asia, Scandinavia to Siberia, Alaska, Canada, northern U.S.A. and New Zealand.

Moose is a good swimmer, so Brian could continue to be attacked when he was in the lake. They usually live alone outside the breeding season, and they have only one calf in each gestation; twins is very rare. The calf eats its mother's milk for about six months, and usually they live together for a year.

Sometimes, the moose is a very dangerous animal like in Hatchet. For example, in winter the deep snow makes it hard for them to walk, so some of them come out on the road with their babies. They are very sensitive and dangerous when they are together with their babies. So if you see a moose that is with its baby, don't run, just keep your eyes on the moose's eye, and walk backwards slowly.

Maybe if Brian had known this information about moose, he could have avoided his problems with the moose at the lake.

Cool sites about moose:

1) Moose Resources

2) Toronto moose in the city

3) GORP - Great Outdoor Recreation Page - Kennan Ward Moose and Caribou Photo Gallery 

Created by: krauss@lclark.edu
Updated: 10/20/00