114 HOOFED ANIMALS 



hair. On the neck and shoulders it is six inches long. Under 

 the throat hangs a long, ornamental strip of hair-covered 

 skin, four inches long, called a 'bell." In the adult male 

 animal this bell is sometimes a foot in length. 



The female Moose has no antlers, but in bulk she almost 

 equals the proportions of the male. 



In captivity the Moose is naturally a docile animal, not 

 foolishly nervous like most deer, but steady, confiding and 

 affectionate. Moose are easily handled, and trained to drive 

 in harness, and in contact with man manifest more common 

 sense than any other species of deer with which I am ac- 

 quainted. 



Owing to the peculiar nature of the digestive organs of 

 this animal, it cannot live long upon ordinary grass or hay, 

 even when supplemented with the best tree-branches that its 

 own native forests can supply. It is my belief that vigorous 

 daily exercise is vitally necessary to the proper digestion and 

 assimilation of their food. In captivity, even when fed on 

 fresh green browse of the choicest variety, which they eat 

 with relish, they usually die of gastro-enteritis, or inflam- 

 mation of the stomach and intestines. Green grass is fatal 

 to them, and when fed on grain, hay and vegetables they 

 soon become emaciated and die. Thus far the best results 

 achieved in the maintenance of captive Moose on public 

 exhibition have been in the Cincinnati Zoological Garden, 

 where Superintendent S. A. Stephen has succeeded in keep- 

 ing a pair for about five years. In great forest preserves, 

 such as Blue Mountain Park, in New Hampshire, Moose do 

 live, thrive and increase. On the Atlantic coast south of 



