FIELD BOOK OF MAMMALS 



the snow melts in the spring and the animals are free to move 

 about, they scatter and are usually seen as individuals or as 

 small parties of two or three. In the summer the bucks and 

 does do not mingle, but the sexes keep by themselves. The 

 bucks may be found in small bands up to ten in number. 



The Black -tailed Deer when alarmed or pressed for speed 

 runs with a peculiar high-bounding gait, taking off from all 

 four feet and landing on all fours. Although spectacular, 

 this gait does not cover ground as rapidly as the rush of the 

 White-tailed Deer. The real value in such a gait is correlated 

 with the broken country in which these bounding Deer live, 

 where such a method of progression carries them safely away 

 from enemies much fleeter on the plains but incapable of great 

 leaps over rough country. The Black-tail does not show an 

 extensively white tail as it runs, it does not carry it aloft as 

 does the Virginia Deer, but lets it hang. 



The Black-tailed Fawns are bom in late May or June. The 

 number varies from one to three, but the usual number is 

 two. The young spend the summer, winter, and spring with 

 the mother and she is a devoted parent. While they are very 

 young and helpless the mother hides them and goes away to 

 feed, returning at long intervals to nurse them. The mating 

 season is usually November and December. 



Genus Alces 

 Dentition: Incisors, 2; Canines, g; Premolars, f; Molars, §=32. 



Moose. — Alces americana 



and related forms 



General Description. — The largest of the American Deer 

 or antlered ungulates, heavy and ungainly in appearance, 

 almost grotesque in comparison with the Virginia Deer. 

 Males have exceedingly broad, heavy, palmate antlers; females 

 without antlers. Muzzle broad, pendulous and inflated; 

 nasal pad hairy except on extreme lower portion; ears large; 

 throat with a hanging growth of skin and long hair called the 

 "bell"; height at shoulders greater than at rump; tail short; 

 hoofs long and pointed; lateral hoofs well developed; color 

 very dark. Plate XLII. 



Color. — Sexes colored alike. 



524 



