ELK OR MOOSE 9 



blackish brown, and being usually darker in American than in 

 European examples. The height varies from 5 feet 9 inches at the 

 shoulder in Scandinavian examples to as much as 6 feet 6 inches or, 

 it is said, even to 7 feet in the Alaskan race ; the weight from 900 

 to 1630 Ibs., that of the antlers being about 60 Ibs. to 100 Ibs. 



Elk inhabit the forests and marshy districts of Scandinavia, 

 Eastern and Northern Russia, and the Altai, and in America (where 

 they are invariably known as moose) at the present time are found in 



Antlers of Elk. 



Alaska, Montana, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. In some 

 localities Scandinavian elk not unfrequently show little or no palma- 

 tion of the antlers, and thus approximate to the East Siberian form ; 

 but it does not seem possible to regard these as a distinct local race. 



An elk killed at Meswiez, Lithuania, by Count Scheibler, had the 

 following dimensions : 



Feet. Inches. 



Length, tip of nose to root of tail . 8 6 



Height at withers ... 5 9 



quarters 6 5^ 



Round neck near the ears . . 4 9 



Estimated weight, 1500 Ibs. 



