Nils Christiansen Kosbok (1838-1896)

As a young boy growing up in the late 1840's, Nils Christiansen Kosbok found North Dakota dull and spent hours in the mountains looking for something to hold his interest. One day, he had encountered that something - yes, a moose. Nils was amazed by the creature at first glance. He watched it for hours as it walked, chewed tall grass in the meadow, and walked some more. Before long, Nils realized that he himself had walked halfway across North Dakota, studying the moose every move. Although he knew he had been away for two and a half months and that his family would be furious, Nils could not turn back. In a strange twist, the Kosbok family completely forgot about Nils, and denied ever having a son when questioned.

As months turned into years, and years on into decades, Kosbok continued to follow every step of the moose; the moose truly was his life and where he found happiness. The few people that knew him well remembered him as a kind man, yet a bit obsessive when it came to moose. An anonymous man had written this about Kosbok: "Nils Kosbok was a man on a quest, but only he knew what he was searching for; Possibly, Kosbok didn't know himself but trusted the instincts of the moose he followed.." The man went on to say that Kosbok's lifestyle was similar to the Shaekacka Trolly nomads, which were european gypsies that fled to North Dakota in the late 1500's. Travelling from herd to herd, Kosbok would live off the land like the moose and share the same diet of tree bark, pine needles,

Kosbok was accepted by the moose as if he was one of their own. In a sense, it could be said that he "was" a moose, considering he was raised by them for his entire adult life.

1871 marked a special year, according to Kosbok's journal- It was the first reported case of "moose shivers" ever to be documented. At the time, Nils could not figure out the cause, but clearly describes what we had witnessed at NDMC in 1998. For an otherwise mild-mannered creature, a case of moose shivers seemed quite violent and extremely out of character. This is why it was such an important discovery.

A short time after his death in 1896, several more of Kosbok's journals surfaced. The entries dated back to 1852, describing, in detail, practically every movement a moose could make. Complete with diagrams and sketches, Kosbok gave his own insight and theories on the creature's behavior. Many entries went as far as to discuss the evolution of the moose: "...a beast that will one day grow taller than the highest treetops...and if he does not, then he will simply fly over them". He also believed that moose would grow several sets of additional racks (sets of horns) just above the wings. Nils also predicted that moose of the future will somehow develop the capability to breathe fire.

Nils Kosbok became very ill in 1895; some believe he contracted a disease from the moose he followed. The disease was said to be similar to Lyme's disease, but most likely could have been cured by today's medicines. Nils Christiansen Kosbok was 58 when he died in 1896.