Are moose to elk as pie is to Kuchen?

Tonight, I learned that the European word for moose (Alces alces) is Elch. The scientific name for moose (clearly bestowed by Europeans) is basically Latin for Elk elk.

Alaskan moose = Elch

In the U.S., we use the word "elk" not for moose, but for wapiti--Cervus canadensis. This is because early European explorers in North America thought Cervus canadensis looked like European moose, which they had already named "elk."

The word "moose" comes from an Algonquin language, Eastern Abenaki: mos. Wikipedia's entry on Elk adds that Asian elk are usually called wapiti (but doesn't say by whom)--from a Shawnee/Cree word, waapiti, meaning "white rump"--because Europeans call moose "elk." Calling Asian elk "elk" would confuse them with moose.

Wapiti standing in a Nebraska field = "elk" in
North American English. This is not a moose.

This topic came up at dinner tonight through a series of moose homonyms.

We were discussing words I find difficult to distinguish, like Abfall (garbage) and Apfel (apple). The difference in pronunciation lies in the vowel of the second syllable (faahl vs. fll), but sometimes the vowel zips past in a vague context, and I can't tell what the speaker means. For example, yesterday S suggested to E that perhaps E could do something about the Abfall/Apfel. We had some apples that needed eating, as well as some garbage that needed to be taken out. Which was it?

Discussing this at dinner tonight, our friend B observed that unlike Apfelmus (applesauce), Abfallmus (garbage puree) wouldn't be very pleasant. "Das muss sein" ("that must be"), he added, making a joke out of Mus (puree) and muss (must)--both of which sound similar to "moose." Naturally, I asked, "wie sagt man moose?" ("how does one say 'moose'?")--which everyone heard as "wie sagt man mousse?", because Germans have heard of Mousse, but not moose--because moose are Elch.

For most of the evening, I thought the word "moose" should join the word "pie" on the list of words the German language should adopt, because in North America, moose and elk are clearly different animals. But then I learned that the moose/elk issue really stems from Europeans wrongly calling North American wapiti elk, not from calling European moose elk--because moose were roaming around Europe long before Europeans had the opportunity to learn the word mos.

Tomorrow I'll ask S and B "wie sagt man 'wapiti' auf deutsch?"

Chukotka moose or east Siberian moose (= Elch)