298 Deer and Antelope of North America 



From careful observation, I believe the moose 

 to reach maturity at about six years of age. To 

 just what age it may live must be conjecture, 

 but approximately I would judge from what I 

 have been able to learn that the maximum period 

 is not far from twenty years. Old animals are 

 easily distinguished by their worn and broken 

 teeth, and by the gray hairs around the nose and 

 at the edge of the hoofs. 



The color of the moose changes from an ashy 

 brown to almost black, varying among animals 

 of different acres and with the seasons of the 

 year, and with different localities. The moose 

 of Maine and Lower Canada are much lighter in 

 the color of the body than those farther to the 

 north and west, and their legs are almost white, 

 while those on the Liard River and the Kenai 

 Peninsula have quite dark hair on their legs. 

 The hair is very coarse, and in the winter is very 

 thick and long, while for additional warmth is 

 grown a light coating of soft wool-like hair or 

 fur of a medium shade of brown. I made what 

 I consider a rather remarkable discovery in speci- 

 mens killed by me on the Kenai Peninsula. 

 Between the toes of these animals grew a bunch 

 of hair of a perfect emerald green. 



The young calves are of a light red with dark 

 dorsal stripe. With the coming of the fall their 

 coats grow darker and the dorsal stripe loses its 



