THE MOOSE 



141 



Regarding the weight of adult Moose, very few 

 exact observations have been recorded, or oth- 

 erwise made available. A large Maine Moose 

 killed by W. L. Miller of Bangor, weighed 1,123 

 pounds. A dressed carcass weighed by S. L. 

 Crosby showed a weight of 1,009 pounds. (Rec- 

 reation Magazine, IV, p. 89.) 



By the time a Moose calf is a year old, it has 

 taken on the colors of adult life, which consist of 

 a mixture of blackish-brown on the head, neck 

 and body, and yellowish-gray on the legs and 

 under parts. The hair and mane is long, coarse 



sense than any other species of deer with which 

 I am acquainted. 



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 inhamma- 



t 



DISTRIBUTION OF THE MOOSE IN NORTH AMERICA, IN 1903. 



and stiff, and lies more like a thatch of straw 

 than genuine 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. 

 Out of every thousand females, only one has a 

 "bell." 



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- 



tion 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 main- 

 tenance of captive Moose on public exhibition 

 have been in the Cincinnati Zoological Garden, 

 where Superintendent S. A. Stephan has suc- 

 ceeded in keeping a pair for about five years. 

 In great forest preserves, such as Blue Mountain 

 Park, in New Hampshire, Moose do live, thrive 

 and increase. 



In a wild state, Moose browse upon many 

 kinds of trees, but particularly upon birch, hem- 

 lock, spruce, alder, aspen, willow and maple. 

 They reach the tender tops of tree saplings by 



