THE GAME BREEDER 



171 



93 pounds. The antlers form between 

 them a sort of basin, for each broadens 

 out in a great shovel-shaped expansion, 

 with marginal points or snags, increas- 

 ing usually with the years of life. The 

 horns and fore feet are the principal 

 means of defense. The general color 

 is dark reddish brown, but becomes 

 slightly lighter and grayer in winter. 

 The limbs, especially the fore legs, are 

 very long. The neck is short and the 

 tail small. More detailed characteristics 

 are the broad, hairy nostrils, the over- 

 hanging upper lip, the small eyes and 

 tear pits, long and broad ears, low stiff 

 mane on the back of the neck, the long 

 bell mane on the lower side of the neck 

 and the brittle hair. 



They are for the most part solitary 

 in their habits, except during the breed- 

 ing season and during the winter months. 

 In winters of deep snow a dozen or 

 more are often found "yarded up" in 

 swamps. 



The male animals often fight with one 

 another. These fights sometimes last un- 

 til one or both are dead. Occasionally 

 the dead bodies are found with the horns 

 locked together in such a manner that 

 they cannot be separated except by 

 breaking them. 



Moose are unlike the big game animals 

 of the western country in that they stay 

 and feed in the same territory summer 

 and winter. During the hot weather of 

 the summer months they stay around 

 the lakes and streams and are com- 

 monly seen in the water, where they 

 feed on grasses, lily roots and wild rice. 

 The flies bother them considerably and 

 they are able to keep them away while 

 in the water. In the fall they are found 

 in the more open country. In winter, 

 during stormy weather, they stay in the 

 heavy timber for protection. During the 

 winter months they browse on aspen, 

 willow, birch, maple and hazel brush. 



The big game animal of the Minne- 

 sota pineries is the moose. Approxi- 

 mately two million acres of land has 

 been set aside, in northern St. Louis, 

 Lake and Cook counties, right in the 

 heart of the moose country, as the Supe- 

 rior State Game Refuge. This refuge 



includes a part of the Superior National 

 Forest. Through a co-operative agree- 

 ment between the State Game and Fish 

 Commissioner and the Federal Forest 

 Service the administrative officers of 

 the Superior Forest are appointed State 

 Game Wardens. They assist the State 

 in patrolling the area within the bound- 

 aries of the National Forest. A study 

 of the habitat of the different game and 

 fur bearing animals is part of the work 

 done by the rangers. It is the unani- 

 mous opinion of these men that the 

 moose are decreasing quite rapidly. The 

 cause is doubtless due to several reasons. 

 For convenience, they are classified as 

 follows : 



1. Illegally killed. 



2. Killed and left in the woods by 

 non-resident hunters. 



3. Killed by wolves. 



4. Migrating further north. 



That there are many moose illegally 

 killed goes without saying. Probably 

 very few have any idea of the actual 

 number killed in this manner. It is 

 only a few years ago* that ten carcasses 

 of moose were seen in Bald Eagle Lake 

 and seven more were seen in a bay of 

 Birch Lake during the same season. 

 Each year the forest officers find car- 

 casses lying in the water. In practically 

 every case it was found that apparently 

 not a pound of meat had been taken. 

 It is pretty generally known that city 

 "sports" in the country for an outing 

 like to boast upon their return of having 

 killed a moose. They are blamed for 

 much of the promiscuous killing in the 

 summer time. There is no sportsman- 

 ship or glory in killing these animals 

 during the fly season. There would be 

 just as much sport in going out in the 

 back yard and killing the family cow. 

 Trappers often kill moose in the winter 

 time for meat to bait traps and poison 

 for wolves. Settlers and others kill them 

 at all times to obtain meat for personal 

 use. 



The law at present allows non-resi- 

 dent hunters to kill moose but does not 

 allow them to take any meat out of the 

 State. However, they can have the head 

 mounted and it then may be taken out. 



