It's the Santa Clause Reindeer in Skyrim discussion thread!

Caribou would certainly fit in Skyrim's setting, and they would be a nice wildlife addition. Maybe we could see a fat, old Nord dressed in red with a reindeer ranch as a funny easter egg! I don't believe we've had any confirmation of them, but they would be a logical animal to include in Skyrim. We would most likely find them around Whiterun because real life caribou live in tundra, but we didn't see any in the demo.

Do you guys want to see caribou? Discuss! :yes:

Oh, and Tweet Pete about whether they will be in Skyrim!

I believe both Elk and Moose were confirmed.. that's close enough for me.

The moose will be the best in game animal ever.

And skyrim is finally going to have non aggressive animals.

I get tired of being the most hated enemy of nature sometimes.

So i herd U will be gone this december! :rolleyes:

Moose were never confirmed. Todd has only confirmed elk. What people are seeing are elk. They look similar, that's why it confuses people.

I saw some uh... footage, and there are most definitely moose in the game. I know the difference between them.

Out of curiosity, what is the difference between them?

I've definitely seen elk. Where's the moose confirmation?

I can't link to it, but I am 100% certain moose are in Skyrim.

Three species of big game animals have been sighted (And I very definitely know the difference between them).

For those who want to learn:

Mule Deer
Confirmed. http://www.uesp.net/wiki/File:SR-ForestHunt_wLegal.jpg
Compare: Note the color and markings on the face and the forward curve of the antlers, similar in shape to those of the whitetail. Mule deer are considerably larger than whitetails and can can found in elk country. http://www.nps.gov/romo/naturescience/mule_deer.htm

Elk (N. American, Wapiti)
Confirmed. http://elderscrolls.com/skyrim/media/videos/official-trailer-4/ The elk are seen walking in the green valley area.
Compare: Note the coloration and the scruffy mane about the neck. The antlers curve backward. http://naturemappingfoundation.org/natmap/facts/elk_712.html

Moose
Confirmed. I can't link to it for you because it's in unofficial video footage. Seek and ye shall find.
Compare: The largest living big game animal in North America. Note the broad, flat scoop-shape in the antlers and the large snout. http://www.birdcapemay.org/gallery/main.php/Archive/Milo+Burcham/Bull+Moose+fighting.jpg.html

Caribou and reindeer would both fit well in Skyrim's climate and geography. They are generally considered to be the same species, but caribou (http://www.birdcapemay.org/gallery/main.php/Archive/Milo+Burcham/Bull+Moose+fighting.jpg.html) are larger, and reindeer (http://www.animalpictures.tk/animal-pictures/reindeer-pictures.html) have been domesticated in northern europe for at least 2,000 years.

All in a nutshell :hubbahubba:

Pretty sure I read a thread where a demo user at eurogamer saw both a moose and elk between his play sessions and observing others. And no I'm not going to go digging to find you a link.

I've seen the footage of the moose at eurogamer myself. I've also seen many moose in real life. If that Moose is actually an Elk, then my father is a werewolf and BGS doesn't know left from right.

CLUCK CLUCK CLUCK OHHHHHHHHH CARIBOU

Elk and Moose
http://i.imgur.com/BwTAM.jpg

Caribou? What, nibbling the croquet hoops?!

However, it is a good woody sort of word I'spose.

Guys, Moose isn't confirmed, the animal you saw from that "footage" is an Elk. Luke is right.

I don't know what kind of footage you've seen, but moose are in Skyrim. Elk do not have giant, webbed-looking horns and a big nose, moose do. The creature in the footage I watched was clearly a moose, no ambiguity in what it was. There is also footage of elk, which are smaller, have thinner, narrower horns, and a tanner cooler to their fur. Both are in Skyrim and both can be seen in different footage.

I want to see caribou next, and maybe a few santa references as well!

Haha... this is a joke, right? I am thoroughly amused, if so. If not, need I remind you that Eurasian elk is the same thing as a moose? XD

I hope there are so I can eat Rudolph :whistling: :whistling:

Well that explains some of the confusion. Thanks for the info.

there was illegal footage of a Moose (aka confirmed)

The big horns were the giveaway (and the way it ran was surprisingly lifelike)

In the USA, were Bethesda is located, they are called moose, so that point is invalid.

http://www.hickerphoto.com/data/media/40/elk_bull_sc11.jpg

http://www.hickerphoto.com/data/media/40/moose_bull_pictures_sc27.jpg


You really notice the difference with the antlers. But there are other subtle differences as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6m-pwWCDKU

The animal bearing the scientific name Alces alces is known in Britain as the elk,[2] and in North America as the moose.

The British English word elk has cognates in other Indo-European languages, for example elg in Norwegian, ?lg in Swedish, Elch in German and ?o? in Polish. Confusingly, the word elk is used in North America to refer to a different animal, Cervus canadensis, also known as the wapiti which is similar though slightly smaller (the wapiti is the second largest deer species), and behaviorally divergent from the smaller red deer of central and western Europe. Presumably early European explorers in North America called it elk because of its size and presumably because, as men coming from the British Isles they would have had no opportunity to see the difference between a member of the genus Cervus and an animal fitting the description of Alces at home, where the latter was nowhere present in the 17th and 18th century.

The word moose is a borrowing from an Algonquian language, probably Narragansett, and according to early sources likely derived from moosu meaning "he strips off".[3] The word 'moose' first entered English in 1606 from Captain Thomas Hanham's 'Mus' (compare to Abenaki mus), and in 1616 from Captain John Smith's 'Moos', with possible mutual reinforcement in usage.[4]

A mature male moose is called a bull moose,[5] a mature female moose is called a cow moose,[6] and an immature moose of either six is called a (moose) calf.[7]

Learning is Fun!