298 
MAMMALIA. 
The Elk swims with great facility. During the summer it 
submerges its whole body, except the head, and in this way 
preserves itself from the stings of the Horse-fly : thus it passes 
the greater portion of the day, when it principally subsists 
upon aquatic herbage. It is also partial to damp forests 
and marshy localities. This animal feeds off the ground with 
difficulty, on account of the shortness of its neck; in order 
the better to reach the grass, it kneels or straddles its fore-legs. 
It prefers, however, to browse off the young shoots, buds, 
Fig. 117. — The Elk or Moose ( Cervus alces , Linn.) 
and bark of trees, and from this cause furnishes the hunters 
with a certain indication of its vicinity. 
The Elks live in small families composed of one male, a female, 
and the young of two generations. 
The females, at their first parturition, bring forth only a single 
calf, but afterwards always two. They watch over their offspring 
with vigilance, and protect them with the greatest courage from 
the attacks of their enemies. 
This Ruminant has a very highly-developed sense of hearing 
