Volume 11, Plate V / Mammalia (Mammals)

Elk, or Moose

Alces Americanus

Surpassing all true deer in size, the Elk stands as tall at the shoulder as a horse and bears enormous palmated horns of fifty to sixty pounds, with a short neck, swollen muzzle, prehensile upper lip, and a brownish-black winter coat with greyish-yellow limbs. Found across northern Europe, Asia, and America, it is not gregarious, frequents lakesides in summer and wooded hills in winter, crops the shoots of willow and birch, and is wary and much hunted.