THE MOOSE: WHERE IT LIVES AND 

 HOW IT LIVES 



THE moose is distinctly the most individual 

 character among the deer family. It is the giant 

 of the cervidce. It is the hardiest and the most 

 capable of self-protection. It will be the last of 

 the deer family to become extinct in America, 

 unless perhaps with the single exception of the 

 whitetail deer in the rugged wilds of southeast- 

 ern Alaska, and in a few favorable localities in 

 the states where well protected. It roams more 

 of the forest country of America than any other 

 species of the deer family. The greatest and wild- 

 est wilderness in the world is its home. Nearly 

 all of the forest country of the whole of North 

 America north of the United States, and a part 

 of some of our northern tier of states, is occupied 

 by it, and the term " forest country " is here meant 

 to apply to all the country upon which timber 

 grows even though ever so sparse and dwarfed. 

 It is the most cunning of all the large animals of 

 North America, and the most capable of eluding 

 its pursuers. 



291 



