Picture trying to survive in the northern forests of Canada, the northern United States and Alaska. For many animals, a habitat like this would be impossible. Yet the moose, a mammal up to about 2 meters tall at the shoulder, thrives there, thanks to features that scientists call adaptations: traits that help a living thing survive in its environment.
Consider very long legs: this adaptation let it walk through deep snow and wade into lakes. Equally important is wide antlers on the males, which are used to show off and to compete with other males. Without these traits, the moose would struggle to last a single season.
As a herbivore, the moose is an animal that eats only plants; it depends on willow twigs, birch bark and water plants. Its behavior matters as much as its body: it wades into lakes and dips its head underwater to eat water plants. Behaviors like this are adaptations too, even though you cannot see them in a photograph.
The next generation faces the same challenges. Young mooses, called calves, depend on their surroundings and on adult care. A calf can outrun a person by the time it is five days old.
Perhaps most remarkable of all: the moose is the largest kind of deer in the world. Facts like this remind us that every animal's body tells a story about the place it lives.