The Moose 301 



The dewlap or bell worn by the bull moose is 

 always very narrow in the young animals, but 

 often quite long. I have seen them almost a foot 

 in length. As the animal grows older the dewlap 

 grows shorter and wider, extending farther along 

 the throat, until in old animals it becomes a lone 

 but very shallow pouch. 



Range. — The range of the moose in America 

 extends as far east as New Brunswick and as far 

 west as the limits of tree growth on the Alaskan 

 Peninsula, south into Montana and Idaho, 1 and 

 north to within a few miles of the Arctic coast or 

 to the limits of tree growth. Only a small per 

 cent of all this vast territory is entirely lacking in 

 moose, though they are very unevenly distributed. 



They do not inhabit that large tract of land 

 known as the Barren Grounds, which lies between 

 the Mackenzie River and Hudson Bay; and the 

 strip of country extending to Lake Superior east 

 of south of the Barrens is almost or completely 

 lacking in moose, although the greater part of it 

 would seem well adapted to their requirements. 



The moose is not a migratory animal, but fre- 

 quently surrenders territory on account of the 

 encroachments of civilization, and perhaps at 

 times from other causes ; but what might seem 

 surprising to even the well-informed upon the 



1 A very few are said to still range in the Wind River Mountains. 

 Wyoming, where once they were fairly plentiful. — Editor. 



