Moose Emil chosen as Austria’s 2025 word of the year

Austria has named “moose Emil” its 2025 word of the year. The moose first drew public attention this summer while wandering across Czechia. He later continued through Lower and Upper Austria, travelling more than 500 kilometres. In late September, after coming too close to a motorway junction, he was tranquillised and returned to the Czech side of the Šumava mountains to a nature reserve.

According to the Austrian Society for German, the term became so widely used during Emil’s journey that it clearly topped the public vote. More than 28,000 people took part in the poll, the highest turnout Austria has recorded.