THE MOOSE 
141 
Regarding the weight of adult Moose, very few 
exact observations have been recorded, or oth- 
erwise made available. A large Maine Moose 
killed by W. L. Miller of Bangor, weighed 1,123 
pounds. A dressed carcass weighed by S. L. 
Crosby showed a weight of 1,009 pounds. ( Rec- 
reation Magazine, IV, p. 89.) 
By the time a Moose calf is a year old, it has 
taken on the colors of adult life, which consist of 
a mixture of blackish-brown on the head, neck 
and body, and yellowish-gray on the legs and 
under parts. The hair and mane is long, coarse 
sense than any other species of deer with which 
I am acquainted. 
Owing to the peculiar nature of the digestive 
organs of this animal, it cannot live long upon 
ordinary grass or hay, even when supplemented 
with the best tree-branches that its own native 
forests can supply. It is my belief that vigorous 
daily exercise is vitally necessary to the proper 
digestion and assimilation of their food. In 
captivity, even when fed on fresh green browse 
of the choicest variety, which they eat with relish, 
they usually die of gastro-enteritis, or inflamma- 
DISTRIBUTION OF THE MOOSE IN NORTH AMERICA, IN 1903. 
and stiff, and lies more like a thatch of straw 
than genuine hair. On the neck and shoulders 
it is six inches long. Under the throat hangs a 
long, ornamental strip of hair-covered skin, four 
inches long, called a “bell.” In the adult male 
animal this bell is sometimes a foot in length. 
The female Moose has no antlers, but in bulk 
she almost equals the proportions of the male. 
Out of every thousand females, only one has a 
“bell.” 
In captivity the Moose is naturally a docile 
animal, not foolishly nervous like most deer, but 
steady, confiding and affectionate. Moose are 
easily handled, and trained to drive in harness, 
and in contact with man manifest more common- 
tion of the stomach and intestines. Green grass 
is fatal to them, and when fed on grain, hay and 
vegetables they soon become emaciated and die. 
Thus far the best results achieved in the main- 
tenance of captive Moose on public exhibition 
have been in the Cincinnati Zoological Garden, 
where Superintendent S. A. Stephan has suc- 
ceeded in keeping a pair for about five years. 
In great forest preserves, such as Blue Mountain 
Park, in New Hampshire, Moose do live, thrive 
and increase. 
In a wild state, Moose browse upon many 
kinds of trees, but particularly upon birch, hem- 
lock, spruce, alder, aspen, willow and maple. 
They reach the tender tops of tree saplings by 
