Rare White Moose Captured on Video in Sweden Goes Viral

There are believed to be about 50 white moose — or elk, as the locals like to call them — in western Varmland, Sweden. For one man, it became a three-year quest to find one. Not only did he manage to fulfill his search by spotting the alabaster animal; he filmed it as well. Councillor Hans Nilsson, who is also a docent at the Swedish Institute of Space Physics, noticed the rare white moose the evening of August 10. He returned the next day to the same location, and there it was, taking a dip in the lake as if it was waiting for him.

“This white elk bull is local to the area. I saw it the evening before too, that was the first time. On Friday evening when I shot the video everything fell into place, the location, the light and the calmness. It was an experience to meet such a stately animal up close,” Nilsson told The Local.

Nilsson posted the video he captured on Facebook, which went viral, receiving over 638,000 views and over 11,000 shares.

In the video, the moose can be seen drinking from the lake and then crossing it to the other side.

At one point, it looks directly into the camera as if to pose and continues its walk into the brush to munch on the foliage.

Moose with bright white fur are not albino. The animals are believed to receive their color from a a recessive gene that causes the animal to grow white with specks of brown—a condition referred to as piebald.  Göran Ericsson, a professor of elk and moose for the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, has studied the ongoing survival of these magnificent creatures who seem to be safe from humans for sport.

“Hunters have chosen to not kill any moose that are light. It is kind of like dog breeding. They [hunters] choose to select for traits that otherwise wouldn’t have occurred,” he told National Geographic.

The white moose is so beloved in Varmland that there is even an inn aptly named “The White Moose Inn,” for it, who happily shared Nilsson’s post on their Facebook page.

Nilsson is not surprised his video has captured the attention of the world. “It was a great feeling when you see such a unique animal that is not at all concerned with people. There has been a lot of interest and many who like and share. That’s because it’s so unusual,” he told Sveriges Radio in Sweden.