292 Deer and Antelope of North America 



Stories of its wonderful size, of its magnificent 

 spreading antlers, of its capabilities of detecting 

 and escaping enemies, of its wonderful strides in 

 running, and of its mysterious and noiseless move- 

 ments, have long been favorites around the camp- 

 fire, at the club, and around the home fireside. 

 The man who has acquired so thorough a knowl- 

 edge of the habits of the moose as to enable him, 

 unaided, to seek the animal in its native haunts 

 and by fair stalking bring it to bay, has reached 

 the maximum standard of the American big-game 

 hunter. 



Species and Characteristics. — There are in 

 America two known species; the Alces ameri- 

 canus of Maine and Lower Canada and Alces 

 gigas of the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. The im- 

 mense expanse of country between these widely 

 separated localities is inhabited by the moose, and 

 whether the two species blend in this intervening 

 country, gradually losing their individuality or 

 specific character, or whether the boundaries of 

 the range of each are clearly defined, or whether 

 there is yet another species in the great country 

 between the two localities from which these 

 types have been described, is a matter yet to be 

 determined. 



When we consider the many surprises the 

 North has furnished us within the last few years 

 in the way of new forms in large mammals, we 



