472 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
in the world. It is similar to the moose of eastern North America 
and the elk of the Old World, but exceeds them in size and differs 
somewhat in color and cranial characters. Its antlers reach mag¬ 
nificent proportions, almost rivaling those of the extinct Irish elk. 
The average spread from tip to tip is between 5 and 6 feet, while 
many pairs have been recorded having a spread of more than 6 feet. 
(See PI. LVI.) 
Moose are generally distributed throughout the timbered parts of 
Alaska, except in the southeastern coast region, where they are ab¬ 
sent. On the Alaska Peninsula they range to the limit of timber and 
in the north and west likewise reach the edge of the tundra. (See fig. 
49.) In the mountains their tracks are so numerous on high rocky 
ridges above timber line that such places may well be regarded as a 
part of their regular range. But most of their time is spent in the 
mixed woods of spruce, poplar, and birch at moderate elevations or on 
the flats along the river bottoms where dense groAvths of spruce alter¬ 
nate with openings containing small ponds and grassy swamps bor¬ 
dered by thickets of willow and alder. The latter places are mostly 
sought during the season of flies and mosquitoes, to escape which the 
animals often lie for hours partly submerged in shallow ponds. In fall, 
