262 ELK. 



served to arrive at a greater magnitude in Asia 

 and America than in Europe. In its shape it is 

 much less elegant than the rest of the deer tribe, 

 having a very short and thick neck, a large head, 

 horns dilating almost immediately from the base 

 into a broad palmated form, a thick, broad, heavy 

 upper lip, hanging very much over the lower, 

 very high shoulders, and long legs. Notwith- 

 standing its awkward proportions, it is, however, 

 of a noble and majestic appearance. It is also a 

 mild and harmless animal, and principally sup- 

 ports itself by brousing the boughs of trees in the 

 vast and dreary forests of the frozen zone. 



The colour of the Elk is a dark, greyish brown, 

 much paler, or inclining to whiteness- on the legs 

 and beneath the tail. The hair, which is of a strong, 

 coarse, and elastic nature, is much longer on the 

 top of the shoulders and on the ridge of the neck 

 than on other parts, forming a kind of stiffish 

 mane : beneath the neck the hair is also of consi- 

 derable length, and in some specimens of the ani- 

 mal, a sort of caruncle or pendent excrescence, 

 covered with long hair, is seen hanging from be- 

 neath the throat * : the eyes and ears are large ; 

 the hoofs broad, and the tail extremely short. 

 The greatest height of the Elk is, according to 

 Mr. Pennant, about seventeen hands, and its 



* This indeed forms a part of the specific character, as given by 

 Linnaeus j yet it seems not to take place in all individuals, and may 

 probably be more visible or protuberant at some particular seasons 

 than at others. 



