MOOSE 



Alces auiericanus. 



This is one of the largest of our North American wild animals, 

 and is also found over a larger area than most of the deer family, 

 being quite common from Newfoundland to Alaska, throughout 

 Canada, and the most northerly of the United States. 



They are cumbersome and awkward looking, in height at the 

 shoulders upwards of six feet, and nearly nine feet in length. Their 

 hair is very coarse and long, especially on the upper part of the 

 neck, and also below on the throat, from which hangs a hair- 

 covered cartilage called the bell. This sometimes reaches the length 

 of eighteen inches, but usually is only ten or twelve inches long. 

 A large male will weigh about fifteen hundred pounds, and the 

 flesh of these animals is considered superior to any of the deer 



family. 



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