40 



THE AMERICAN MOOSE 



paper read before the Geological Society of America, 

 December 29, 1897, discussing the migrations of 

 northern mammals, says: "The moose or Ameri- 

 can elk {Alces americanus) migrates slowly from 

 one large area to another through periods extending 

 over many years. For example, in the Gaspe 

 Peninsula the last interval between its leaving 

 and again returning to the same district was up- 

 ward of half a century, and in the region between 

 the upper Great Lakes and James Bay the period 

 between his last withdrawal and reappearance has 

 been still longer."" 



Estimates of the number of moose occupying this 

 vast area, extending from ocean to ocean, must of 

 course be largely speculative. "The entire [Ameri- 

 can] range of the moose is about 3,500,000 square 

 miles," writes Ernest Thompson Seton. "... At 

 a very rough estimate, we may put the number on 

 the whole range at a round million of moose."'"" 

 Mr. Seton in making his estimate is quite safe 

 from effective contradiction. If to these figures 

 are added the number of elk credited to Siberia 

 and northern Europe,'^ the grand total — more than 

 3,000,000 — would indicate that the race of Alces 

 is not likely soon to perish from the earth. 



" Bulletin of the Geological Society of America^ vol. ix., p. 376. 

 " Life Histories of Northern Animals (N. Y., 1909). vol. i., p. 155. 

 »3See pp. 291-292. 



