‘Natural and authentic’ wildlife show watched by 9,000,000 now free to stream

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When you think of reality TV shows, images of screaming matches in Vanderpump Rules, cheating husbands in Married at First Sight, or Big Brother chaos are conjured. But there is a much more peaceful alternative, and it’s airing right now.

Introducing the least dramatic reality TV show in the world: The Great Moose Migration — officially known as The Great Elk Trek or, as the Swedish call it, Den stora älgvandringen.

Originally due to air on April 22, STV’s The Great Elk Trek has been forced forward by a week to accommodate the warmer Swedish climate, which has sped up the annual moose migration.

That’s right, some of Sweden’s 300,000 moose are about to unknowingly cross rivers, poop, and chomp on some tasty grass in front of millions of people.

As we speak, patches of snow still cling to the shores of the Ångerman River in northern Sweden, visible on the three-week livestream which was watched by 9,000,000 people last spring.

The moose migration livestream attracted 9,000,000 viewers in 2024 (Picture: AP/metrograb) It’s kicked off early this year as warmer weather has sped up the migration (Picture: AP/metrograb)

Geese can be heard in the background as the water laps and flows, with viewers waiting patiently for the first moose to enter the shot on its annual migration across the river — a moment viewers are eager to see.

‘There are a lot of moose about,’ producer Stefan Edlund told SVT. ‘They’re waiting for us. We’ve had to adjust. But it should be OK.’

The show relies on more than just a few cameras left to their own devices (literally) — The Great Elk Trek has a 15-person crew working out of an Umeå control room, 400 miles north of Stockholm.

The elk have plodded the same route for thousands of years — much like the Serengeti National Park’s Great Wildebeest Migration — so the crew had already positioned the 12 miles of cable and 26 cameras ready to capture the action.

Though, most of the time, not much happens.

Sweden is home to some 300,000 moose, who roam the forests (Picture: Michal Fludra/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

This ‘slow TV’ trend began when Norway’s public broadcaster NRK aired the minute-by-minute progress of a seven-hour train trip. Now it’s spread to global and viral heights, with the Fish Doorbell the best-known channel in the genre.

The viral Fish Doorbell in Utrecht allows viewers to spot fish trying to migrate through the lock streams.

When eagle-eyed viewers see a fish, they press a virtual doorbell. Once enough are spotted, the lock operators open the gate to let them carry on their migratory route.

How to watch The Great Moose Migration and similar slow TV shows

The Great Moose Migration airs on STV, and is available to watch through this link every day and night for three weeks.

Visdeurbel — or Fish Doorbell — can be watched and interacted with via this link.

Closer to home, you can watch a series of live wildlife streams via the Wildlife Trust’s website — from Nottingham’s peregrine falcons to Skomer puffins, Somerset barn owls, Montgomeryshire’s ospreys, kittiwakes in Durham, and even Cardigan Bay dolphins.

Fans are obsessed with The Great Moose Migration

‘I think it’s a genre that’s going to stay with us,’ Annette Hill, professor of media at Jönköping University, told the Associated Press.

‘I think that its appeal to something natural and authentic taking place, which we can witness minute by minute, in real time, is very powerful.’

This is the action shot everyone is tuning in to witness (Picture: Michal Fludra/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Ulla Malmgren, 62, doesn’t want to miss a moment of the 20-day, 24-hour event, so she stocked up on snacks and those close to her know not to bother her when it’s happening.

‘Sleep? Forget it. I don’t sleep,’ she said. ‘I make sure I have coffee, I have snacks.’

Fellow moose enthusiast William Garp Liljefors was late to school due to the livestream.

‘I was late to school because I saw moose and my teacher was like, “What, you saw moose in the city?” And I was like, “No, it’s on the TV,”‘ he said.

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