The moose calf is born in May and is at first a grotesque looking creature with long, loose jointed legs and an abnormally short body. By the time the calf is a year old it has taken on the colors of adult life.
Unlike most members of the Deer Family, the moose does not graze. It eats the bark, twigs and leaves of certain trees, and also moss and lichens. It is strictly a forest animal and is never found on open, treeless plains. Being very fond of still water, it frequents small lakes and ponds.
One of the largest bull moose on record was seven feet high at the shoulders and had a girth of eight feet. The largest pair of antlers recorded have a spread, at the widest point, of 78 inches. The weight of the antlers and the dry skull together is 93 pounds.
The bull moose has under the throat a long strip of skin called a “bell.” In the adult male animal this bell is sometimes a foot in length The female moose has no antlers, and out of every thousand females only one has a bell.
In captivity the moose is docile, and affectionate. They have even been trained to drive in harness. But owing to the peculiar nature of their digestive organs, they cannot live long upon ordinary grass or hay. Green grass is fatal to them.
During the deep snows of winter moose herd together in sheltered spots in the forest. They move about in a small area and by treading down the snow form what is called a “moose yard.”
The Alaskan moose has been described as a new species (Alces gigas). It is said to be a giant in size. Ideas of this animal are greatly exaggerated, although it is true that its antlers are really immense.
BASED ON MATERIAL DRAWN FROM “THE AMERICAN NATURAL HISTORY,” COPYRIGHT 1904, BY WILLIAM T. HORNADAY
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR. VOL. 4. No. 13. SERIAL No. 113