520 



THE CLOVEN-HOOFED ANIMALS. 



surface, it is very difficult for it to rise. When it 

 runs, one hears distinctly a clicking, rattling noise 

 produced by the clattering of the rudimentary toes 

 against the heel of the hoof. An Elk which has 

 started to run can not be made to swerve from a 

 direct course, but proceeds straight through the 

 thickest of the wood, through lakes, rivers, and 

 bogs, which may lie before it. 

 Physical and Men- The sense of hearing of the Elk is 



tal Faculties of acute, while its faculties of sight and 

 the Elk. smell are inferior. In regard to 



mental capacity it does not seem to belie the indica- 

 tions of its lumpish, stupid appearance. Its actions 

 indicate very little intelligence. It possesses little 

 shyness and still less caution, and hardly learns to 

 discriminate between real and imaginary danger. A 

 firm bond of union between the members of a herd 

 does not seem to exist, but each individual acts 

 according to its own judgment. It is true that the 

 fawn follows its mother, but the herd does not inva- 

 riably follow its leader, as is the case with other 

 Deer. During the mating season the males are very 

 much excited, challenging each other and fighting 

 with great obstinacy and ferocity. They readily 

 attack Man at this time and continually wander 

 around, day and night, apparently possessed of a 

 feeling of vague disquiet and unrest. The affec- 

 tion of the Elk mother for her fawn is very great. 

 She defends even her slain young one, and if her 

 infant be taken from her she roams about the place 

 of its capture searching for it for days. 



The Elk's In spite of the Elk's strength, it has 

 Enemies and to fear other enemies besides Man, 

 Uses. especially the Wolf, Lynx, Bear and 



Glutton. The Wolf usually tears an Elk down in 

 winter in deep snow; the Bear is prone to sneakingly 

 approach only solitary animals and refrains from 

 attacking a troop; the Lynx and occasionally the 

 Glutton spring on an Elk passing under the tree 

 which shelters them, fasten their claws into its neck 

 and bite through its arteries. They are the most 

 dangerous enemies of the strong Elks. Wolves and 

 Bears, however, need to proceed cautiously in at- 

 tacking an Elk, for the latter knows how to ward off 

 an attack successfully, even when deprived of its 

 vigorous antlers, using the hard, sharp hoofs of its 

 forelegs with much skill and vigor. 



Elks taken young may be tamed and even allowed 

 to wander about at liberty; in Germany, however, 

 they rarely survive captivity for a long time. In 

 Sweden they are said to have been trained to draw 

 sleds, but a law was passed prohibiting this practice, 

 " for the speed and endurance of the Elks would have 

 rendered the pursuit of criminals impossible." Later 

 attempts to domesticate the Elk have failed. The 

 young appear to thrive at first, but subsequently they 

 become reduced in condition and die. 



The profit to Man of the carcass of an Elk is con- 

 siderable. Venison, hide and antlers are all put to 

 account, like those of the other Deer. The flesh is 

 tougher, but the hide is firmer and better than that 

 of the Red Deer. Elk hide was highly esteemed 

 and brought a high price, in the middle ages espe- 

 cially. But all the profit of the Elk is far from 

 compensating for the damage it inflicts. The ani- 

 mal is most destructive to the trees in woods which 

 it inhabits and is so great a menace to the exist- 

 ence of well kept forests that it ought not to be 

 cared for or protected in those regions in which 

 there is any attempt made to practice forestry after 

 modern and improved methods. 



Difference Between The Moose or Moose Deer of Eng- 

 the Moose and Eu- lish-speaking Americans, and called 

 ropean Elk. Orignal by French Canadians {Alces 

 amcricanus, or alces malchis) differs from its Old 

 World relative in the deeply indented blades of its 

 antlers, with separate spur sprouts, its dewlap scantily 

 grown with hair and its darker color. Opinions about 

 this animal are as yet by no means settled, though 

 some naturalists have claimed to find point of dis- 

 tinction not only in the texture of the fur but also 

 in its darker color, particularly on the hams of the 

 animal. I have seen living animals of both hemi- 

 spheres beside each other, and have not been able 

 to find any considerable difference, so that I hardly 

 believe that they can be considered distinct species. 

 The antlers of the Moose are stronger and heavier 

 than those of the European Elk and may attain a 

 weight of sixty to eighty pounds. Hamilton Smith 

 gives the following description: "The Moose Deer 

 is the largest species of Deer, for it is taller than a 

 Horse at the withers. If one were to deny the 

 grand impression this animal produces on the spec- 

 tator, it would be probable that he had seen only 

 stuffed females or young individuals. We had the 

 opportunity of beholding Moose Deer in the prime 

 of their development, with completed antlers and in 

 their wild state, and we must confess that no animal 

 makes a more magnificent appearance. The head is 

 over two feet long, but has a clumsy appearance; 

 the eye is proportionately small and deep-sunken; 

 the ears resemble those of a Donkey and are long 

 and hairy; the spurs of the antlers may sometimes 

 number as many as twenty-eight." 

 The Range of the The Moose Deer is still found in 

 Moose and Method the northern portions of North 

 of Hunting it. America, especially in Canada, New 

 Brunswick and on the shores of the Bay of Fundy. 

 Franklin found it at the mouth of the Mackenzie 

 and eastward along the Coppermine river at the 

 sixty-fifth parallel. Mackenzie also found it on the 

 heights of the Rocky Mountains and along the 

 sources of Elk River. The Moose Deer casts its 

 antlers later than does the European Elk, usually in 

 January and February, and in severe winters as late 

 as March. The food of the Moose is probably iden- 

 tical with that of the Elk. 



The northern Indians hunt the Moose extensively 

 and in various ways. One of their principal devices 

 consists in driving the animal into the water, where 

 they approach it in their canoes and slay it without 

 difficulty. These people affirm that after partaking 

 of the flesh of the Elk, they can travel three times as 

 far as after a meal consisting of other meat. They 

 make large spoons out of the antlers and utilize the 

 hide for covering their canoes. Young Moose Deer 

 can easily be tamed, for they learn to know and 

 trust their keeper after a few days captivity. But 

 with increasing age they, like their relatives, become 

 savage, hasty-tempered and dangerous. 



THE REINDEER. 



Among the Reindeer (Rangifer) both sexes have 

 antlers, which rise from a short bony protuberance 

 on the frontal ridge, describe first a backward and 

 then a forward curve, expand in a blade-like manner 

 at their extremities, have finger-shaped indentations 

 and are slightly furrowed. Very broad hoofs and 

 rather long, bluntly pointed rudimentary toes distin- 

 guish this species of Deer. Their shape is rather 

 cumberous, the head being specially ungainly; the 

 legs are relatively short; the tail is very short. The 



