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Massive Moose Recorded on Instagram: ‘He Ran Into This Absolute Unit While Hiking’

One hiker was in for the surprise of their life when an enormous moose came marching down a hiking trail right behind them. The hiker managed to capture the incredible footage on video.

The clip, shared by “House of Highlights” on Instagram, shows the enormous animal slowly walking down the trail in the middle of the woods. While it’s difficult to gauge the exact size of the animal, it’s clearly extremely big judging by the way it shifts its head back and forth to dodge the hanging tree limbs.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CErjc7lgas6/

According to “House of Highlights,” the original video comes via Instagram user @antoinevez_. After surfacing on social media, the clip racked up hundreds of thousands of likes. Many took to the comments to share their reaction.

Most users expressed their shock at how massive the animal appears to be. “I don’t think people realize how big these things are,” a user commented.

Another user pointed out how the moose coming that close to the hiker presented a threat. “Kinda cool getting to see a moose that close but also very dangerous,” one user writes.

One Instagram user warns others not to anger the wild animals if they ever happen to encounter one. “I’ve seen a moose and they are savage creatures,” the user writes. “don’t make them mad.”

Fun Facts about the Moose Population in the U.S.

Nearly 800 moose live in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, according to The Dyrt.

Moose belong to the deer family. One trait that separates them from all others in the deer family is that these large animals can close their nostrils.

While they aren’t aquatic animals, moose are excellent swimmers. They can swim at 6 mph for 2 hours. For reference, Olympian Michael Phelps’ top speed is around 6 mph.

[H/T House of Highlights]