298 



MAMMALIA. 



The Elk swims with great facility. During the summer it 

 submerges its whole body, except the head, and in this way 

 preserves itself from the stings of the Horse-fly : thus it passes 

 the greater portion of the day, when it principally subsists 

 upon aquatic herbage. It is also partial to damp forests 

 and marshy localities. This animal feeds off the ground with 

 difficulty, on account of the shortness of its neck; in order 

 the better to reach the grass, it kneels or straddles its fore-legs. 

 It prefers, however, to browse off the young shoots, buds. 



Fig. 117. — The Elk or Moose {Ccrius akc^^ Linn.) 



and bark of trees, and from this cause furnishes the hunters 

 with a certain indication of its vicinity. 



The Elks live in small families composed of one male, a female, 

 and the young of two generations. 



The females, at their first parturition, bring forth only a single 

 calf, but afterwards always two. They watch over their offspring 

 with vigilance, and protect them with the greatest courage from 

 the attacks of their enemies. 



This Ruminant has a very highlj^-developed sense of hearing 



