HISTORY OF QUADRUPEDS. 



125 



THE AMERICAN ELK. 



WE have given a faithful portrait of this animal, 

 from a living one lately brought from the interior 

 parts of America. It seems to be very different 

 from that generally described under the name of 

 the Elk, or Moose-Deer, to which it has very little 

 resemblance. It seems, indeed, to belong to a dis- 

 tinct species, and is probably the Elk or Orignal of 

 Canada and the northern parts of America. 



At the age of five years, the length of this crea- 

 ture was nine feet, from the end of the muzzle to 

 the insertion of the tail, the head and neck being 

 extended in a line with the body: its height at the 

 shoulder was four feet six inches; length of the 



