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Years prior to Kosbok and his modern outlook on the moose of today, it was believed that moose were much larger in size than usually perceived. This assumption was made for numerous reasons, and was passed down as fact without criticism. The origin of these claims can be traced back to the people of North Dakota circa 1200. Since moose would graze in the foothills of the mountainous regions of the state, villagers would rarely venture out into these colder climates. If by chance someone would see a moose, it would be at a great distance away; it is theoried that this was where the confusion began. |
Perspective was not something people easily understood. If an object was spotted in the distance, it was usually viewed much differently than what was actual there. Moose were naturally feared by villagers because of their menacing racks (antlers) and large muscular torsos. However, since no one would or could get near a moose, they were always assumed to be a very large creatures- even referrerd to as "mammoth" in size. Roughly 500 years later, the confusion was put to an end by the close observations made by Nils Kosbok. As a self-proclaimed "moose" himself, Kosbok was the only person who would willingly be near moose. In his numerous journals, the size of an average moose was discussed at great length. Kosbok himself was surprised by his findings.
Common knowledge since 1200 indicated that moose stood well over 100 feet tall, which, of course, seems outrageous nowadays. Kosbok grew up hearing these same tales of moose, which was partially why he was so obsessed by the creature. Realizing that these stories were just that; only "stories," did not happen over night. Despite following every step of the moose, it took Kosbok 15 years to find the nerve to stand side by side with the creature.
"Massive? The tallest one I've seen only comes up to my waist!"
Like much of his past, these stories were a distant memory to Kosbok and were purposely forgotten. However, he was reminded of the stories when he arrived in the town of Kregrel. While passing through town, he had asked people in the tavern if they had noticed any moose in the area. The few that answered him asked why he would was interested in such a massive creature. Kosbok replied, "Massive? The tallest one I've seen only comes up to my waist!" The tavern exploded with laughter and Kosbok ran away humiliated. He thought about what had happened and wondered why he got such a response. It wasn't long until he remembered all the stories he had once heard, then he started laughing, too.
After this incident, Kosbok began documenting sizes of all the moose he encountered. Here is a paragraph from one of the entries:
October 5th, 1861 - I've been following this one herd for about two weeks now and already there are 3 new baby moose. I'll bet they'll be big and tall like their daddy ( The father, named Orvil, was recorded to be 38" tall).
Other entries have only names with numbers, which seem to be more official measurements:
Carter 24" Orvil 33" Sam 29" Alister 38" Grover 30" Abe 36" Clide 34"
Based on these and many other entries, NDMC hypothesized a theory and named it after Kosbok, which can be found in the NDMC handbook. It states: On average, a full grown male moose can reach heights of 36 inches, while a full grown female moose will peak at 30 inches. Below is an illustrated chart of the Kosbok Theory, showing the height ratio between moose and humans.
The screenshot is from the 1974 educational film strip series, "Did You Know? : Of Moose and Man".
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