In front of you is a moose, Finland's largest game animal. Its body length can be three meters and they can grow up to two meters in height. A male can weigh up to 600 kg and a female 350 kg. The moose's long legs and wide hooves make it easier to move in the snow.

In Finland, the moose lives in the northern coniferous forest zone. It was already the most important prey for hunters in the Stone Age, and moose are one of the main reasons why people settled in these northern regions after the end of the last ice age about 10,000 years ago. Food, valuable pelts and skins were obtained from the large animal, and its bones, antlers and tendons were all used to make various necessities.

The importance of the moose as the hunter’s prey, is made clear by the ancient paintings made on rocks and various objects. In the village of Lehtojärvi, near Rovaniemi, a wooden moose head has been found, which is about 8,400 years old. You can view a replica of this object on the back wall of the exhibit, behind the stuffed moose. There has been speculation that it was once the bow of a boat, but the exact purpose is unknown.

The large animal's diet is plant-based and most of its time is spent eating, as a moose consumes up to 40 kilograms of food per day. Moose are good swimmers and are capable of diving to great depths to get food from the bottom of lakes.

Moose can cause both dangerous car crashes and forest damage by eating the fresh buds of pine trees, so there are preventative reasons why they are still hunted. The moose population is controlled by planned hunting, because in the second half of the 19th century, excessive hunting brought the moose to the brink of extinction. Moose are usually hunted in groups, and for many Finns the moose hunting season is one of the most important events of the autumn.

The moose belongs to the deer family, as does the reindeer, which is much smaller than the moose and has a different body structure. Both are well adapted to the northern habitat: they have a hollow coat, which helps to insulate the heat. However, the moose has adapted more successfully to life in a wider climate area than the reindeer, which in turn has adapted to life in a cold climate.

A moose is a wild animal, while a reindeer can be called a semi-wild animal, because it is grazed and every reindeer belongs to someone. Reindeer is a herd animal, which moose is not. As an antisocial animal, it does not build a trusting relationship with humans either.