You could say that TikTok is ruining our attention spans, and yet, viewers around the world are tuning in to watch a monotonous livestream from a Swedish TV station that they’ve probably never heard of. It’s time for the Great Moose Migration.
For thousands of years, moose have crossed the Ångerman River each spring, trekking to a warmer summer habitat. But since 2019, the whole world can watch along for three weeks as Sweden’s SVT broadcaster airs its livestream of the migration online, using over 30 cameras to catch all of the painstakingly slow action.
For the most part, the livestream shows tranquil scenes of forests and rivers, and if you’re lucky, you just might glimpse a passing moose, blissfully unaware of its international superstardom. It’s just a moose, trudging along without a care in the world.
Most of the time, the stream is nearly silent. Other times, you’ll hear the wind gust and the birds chirp. It’s nice, even if you forget you left the livestream tab open on your computer and get jumpscared by a flock of creatures thousands of miles away.
As one Swedish student told the AP: “I feel relaxed, but at the same time I’m like, ‘Oh, there’s a moose. Oh, what if there’s a moose? I can’t go to the toilet!’”
Even overnight, the stream continues. Lack of sunlight, be damned — night vision cameras will make sure we see every last bit of moose content. However, the stark black and white image evokes “The Blair Witch Project” more than National Geographic. But a spooky moose sighting is still a moose sighting.
Last year, 9 million viewers tuned into SVT’s moose stream. By comparison, the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week saw more than 22 million viewers in 2023. Considering that SVT is just streaming live feeds of nature with a 15-person staff, that’s a pretty impressive comparison.
What makes this kind of livestream so compelling is that it’s so drastically different from what we’re normally exposed to on the internet. Your TikTok feed shows you bite-sized videos so specifically tailored to your interests that it’s hard to look away. YouTubers meticulously edit their videos to keep us engaged for as long as possible.
But the moose don’t want anything from us. They don’t even know we’re here, cheering them on.
