84 



THE AMERICAN MOOSE 



moose's range the calves are born late in April 

 or early in May. Farther north the time is 

 somewhat later. The birthplace of the ungainly 

 little things is usually a densely wooded island, or 

 other place which the mother deems safe from 

 bears. If the birthplace is an island the grotesque 

 youngsters may be seen, when still very young, 

 swimming with their mother's aid. The calves 

 boldly follow the mother into the water, and if 

 distrustful of their own clumsy paddles support 

 themselves by placing their fore hoofs on the 

 mother's back, and thus convoyed make their 

 way across broad reaches of water to the mainland. 



Long loose-jointed legs, with short little body 

 and high shoulders like a hunchback, give the 

 calf moose an almost uncouth appearance. At 

 six weeks of age he will weigh less than a hundred 

 pounds, but will be as tall as a mature buck deer 

 of the white-tail variety weighing two hundred and 

 fifty pounds or more. The calf's neck is so short 

 that he must kneel to touch the ground with his 

 nose. His hair is woolly, of a sandy or light bay 

 color, but as a yearling he assumes the blackish 

 brown of adult life, the brown shading into yellow- 

 ish gray on the legs and belly. The nose and 

 upper lip are undeveloped in the calf. 



The calf's growth is exceedingly rapid. Ac- 



