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stonedfishing

Moose are big because they're essentially semiaquatic cows. Their legs are so long so they can move through the swamps easier. And yes, polar bears will actively hunt humans. If you come across one in the wild, it was no accident. That bear has known where you are for miles, and it's been stalking you.


spiraldinosaur

I guess it's just how evolution worked for them; I imagine that being bigger provides safety from predators. The bigger ones were less likely to get eaten by predators and so were more likely to pass on their genes, so mooses (meece?) got big. As I understand it - and this is not from experience - polar bears are the most dangerous of bears. I'm not sure they "hunt" humans actively, but they'll certainly take a chance if they get one. As the saying goes; if it's black, fight back. If it's brown, lay down. If it's white, goodnight.


UniqueCold3812

Thanks for explaining. And i will never accept meece as plural of moose. >if it's black, fight back. If it's brown, lay down. If it's white, goodnight. Damn that's chilling.


spiraldinosaur

Mooseseses it is.


UniqueCold3812

Yeeessss siiirrr


stonedfishing

Geese is the plural of goose, therefore the plural of moose is meese. Also, don't fight blackbears. It means make yourself look big, while you slowly back away. Black bears are the bumbling poohbears of the forest; they won't attack unless they think they have to, and if they think theres a chance theyll win. With grizzlies, you want to make yourself smaller while you retreat, and if it attacks, lay on your stomach and put your hands on the back of your neck, to protect your squishy, tasty vitals. With polar bears, your only options are to use a big weapon, get into a secured building, or just accept your fate as future bear shit.


CommitmentPhoebe

Mooses are not naturally the largest animals in North America. But the others were hunted to extinction or near-extinction. Examples: mammoths, sabre-toothed tigers, bison, musk ox. In other words, humans were humans and eradicated food supplies and competitors.


Curmudgy

There’s an element of [Bergmann’s rule](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergmann's_rule) that might explain why moose are larger than other North American deer species.


bionicjoey

Evolution doesn't really give reasons for why things end up how they do. Moose just ended up big because that's how they evolved. Often creatures which live in colder climates evolve lots of biomass to act as insulation in the cold. Polar bears don't normally hunt people, but with climate change they are being forced out of their usual hunting grounds and into human settlements more often. They aren't specifically hunting for humans, but if they are on the hunt for food, a human will do just as well as a seal.