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Is there really a moose this big? Or is it a hoax?

This picture, purportedly taken by someone named Lindsay of a rather ginormous moose "near Elliot Lake, near Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan's Upper Peninsula," was posted this morning on ScienceBlogs.
ReallyBigMoose

This picture, purportedly taken by someone named Lindsay of a rather ginormous moose "near Elliot Lake, near Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan's Upper Peninsula," was posted this morning on ScienceBlogs.com, which describes itself as "the largest online community dedicated to science."

"That's not a footpath," writes blogger P.Z. Myers, a biologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris. "It's a single lane dirt road for cars, just to give some sense of how big this beast is."

At time of writing (9:44 a.m. on Monday) 27 readers had posted comments on the picture, some rather skeptical.

"PhotoShop is one of my favorite software programs," writes Neil B. "I wonder why Lindsay didn't include a silly squirrel with that moose. :-)"

"Am I missing something or doesn't anyone see that this is clearly Photoshopped," adds Abz. "There's a light outline around some parts of the animal and the light on the beast is different from the light in the background. Or is it some joke that I don't get?"

But reader Mikecbraun begs to differ: "The "outline" around the moose is the early-morning sunlight. I don't think it's PhotoShopped. My friend and I saw a big one running off into the pines and found moose tracks the size of large dinner plates on roads up around my cabin in Northwestern Ontario. They get biiiiiig. And Alaskan moose get even bigger."

To see another photo of the big brute, and read the comments, please click here.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Shortly after SooToday.com posted this article, Lindsay, the purported photographer, posted this comment on ScienceBlogs.com: "I didn't Photoshop it, but why would I need to when moose really get that big? I didn't take the picture, it was passed to me in an e-mail. If I were there I would probably have been running as fast as I could in the opposite direction!)


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David Helwig

About the Author: David Helwig

David Helwig's journalism career spans seven decades beginning in the 1960s. His work has been recognized with national and international awards.
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