The Moose 317 



is a very common sight to see a mother with her 

 year-old and baby moose together. But when a 

 mother is preparing for a new offspring she en- 

 deavors to forsake the company of her one-year- 

 old, and she is usually successful. She will resort 

 to methods that indicate her cunning and reason- 

 ing power. She will wander about in a valley 

 near some stream, and while her yearling is lying 

 down she will feed off alone to the stream and 

 swim across, then run rapidly down the other side 

 around a bend out of sight, and again taking to 

 the stream may swim down it for a mile or so 

 and out again, keeping up this game until she is 

 confident of having lost the yearling completely. 

 After this, another move which is a very common 

 one is to swim to some island in the stream, 

 which she will travel all over for the purpose of 

 ascertaining if it is free from enemies. If she 

 finds it to be, she will remain there until her calf 

 is about two weeks old, when she will start with 

 it to the mainland. The little fellow will have 

 no difficulty in keeping afloat, but the rapid cur- 

 rent nearly everywhere in the northern rivers 

 would carry it down stream if left alone, and the 

 fond mother understands this, and with the affec- 

 tion that a moose mother knows she gets below 

 it, so that the calf swimming and resting against 

 the mother's side is steered in safety to the main- 

 land. 



