The Home of the Wolverene and Beaver. 95 



more remarkable in a state of captivity than when 

 it wanders at will in the gloomy pine woods of 

 North America. The head of the moose much 

 resembles that of an enormous jackass, being 

 very long, and having a prehensile muzzle, which 

 extends several inches beyond the lower lip. The 

 nostrils are narrow and long ; the eyes small in 

 proportion to the head, and the ears of considerable 

 length. The neck is very short, and is surmounted 

 by a compact mane of coarse hairs, which the 

 animal erects when excited or enraged. But the 

 wondrous part of the moose are its horns, which are 

 very large and palmated at the extremities, and 

 Audubon mentions the curious fact that the palms 

 on the main branches of the horns not only differ 

 in different individuals, but do not often correspond 

 on the head of the same animal. A single pair of 

 antlers sometimes reach the enormous weight of 

 over sixty pounds. The colour of the moose varies 

 according to its age, and the upper portion of its 

 body is darker than the under. The young animals 

 for the first winter are of a reddish-brown colour, 

 but as they advance in years the coat deepens in hue 

 until it becomes nearly black, from whence it is 

 named by one naturalist the "American Black Elk." 

 Formerly moose were very abundant in Canada, 

 but the hunter has followed them up perseveringly, 



