Relatively speaking, moose are a new species to North America, from a geological timescale perspective. They crossed from Asia to Alaska via the Bering land bridge about 15,000 years ago. Researchers, through carbon dating and collecting DNA from both ancient moose fossils and modern moose from around the world, have helped pinpoint where the species originated and how it spread. The modern moose shares a common ancestor thought to have existed in East Asia around 85,000 years ago. As the climate started to warm, moose began moving north, following the vegetation they fed on and continue to feed on today.
