TRAITS AND HABITS OF THE MOOSE 69 



having a bell thirty-eight inches long, exclusive 

 of hair.^ 



The moose's tail is of insignificant proportions. 

 Indeed, one old writer denied him the possession 

 of any tail at all.''' In a full-grown specimen the 

 tail, exclusive of hair, will not exceed 4^2 inches in 

 length. 



In intelligence the moose is superior to most 

 other varieties of the deer family. But "a little 

 knowledge is a dangerous thing," for moose as 

 well as men. If in a given tract of ample dimen- 

 sions there were fifty moose and fifty whitetail 

 deer, and they were hunted with a view to exter- 

 mination, the last moose would probably be 

 killed long before the last of the whitetails fell 

 a victim to the rifle ball. The reason is that 

 the moose has a well-defined instinct, developed 

 through the ages when his ancestors were pursued 

 by carnivorous enemies, and has a certain definite 

 motive for each measure of self-protection to which 

 he resorts. The foolish whitetail knows no reason 

 for seeking safety from pursuit by going "down the 

 wind." The cautious moose learned ages ago 

 that by this expedient he could escape the wolf- 



9 Life Histories of Northern Animals, vol. i., p. 163. 

 ^° Pierre Boucher, Histoire Veritable et Naturelle des Moeurs et des 

 Productions du Pays de la Nouvelle France (1663). 



