EVEN-TOED UNGITLATKS (AimODACTYLA) 237 



reindeer into Scotland, bnt all have so far proved 

 nnsuccessfnl. 



'J'lie moose, or elk, also, has pahnated antlers, 

 remains of which have been found abundantly in 

 England and Scotland, Init there is no satisfactory 

 proof that the true elk ever inhabited Ireland. 

 The so-called Irish elk is the giant fallow deer 

 {G. meg ace rot;) referred to above. It existed in 

 England in the Pliocene period, and therefore 

 before the reindeer. Julius Ca3sar speaks of it 

 as an inhabitant of the Black and Hercynian 

 Forests, and a few still linger in East Prussia. It is 

 also found in Russia, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. 

 But we connect the moose more especially with the 

 north of North America, where it exists now in 

 great numbers. For a member of the deer tribe 

 the moose is a strangely awkward-looking animal. 

 Deer seem to be the embodiment of grace, amongst 

 herbivorous animals, just as cats are amongst carni- 

 vores. Nevertheless, ugly as he may appear, the 

 moose is admirably adapted to his surroundings in a 

 marshy forest. His hoofs, like those of the reindeer, 

 are capable of spreading, being connected by an 

 extensile skin. The legs are very long and ungainly, 

 but very strong, the upper lip is wide, protruding 

 and snout-like. The moose feeds on the leaves and 

 bark of willow and birch, and owing to his short 

 neck and long legs is unable to graze on level 

 ground. In winter one male and several females 

 will form a " moose yard '' in the forest by 

 trampling down the snow in some chosen area. 



