Mooses [was Re: [Sca-cooks] Regretable foods.... OOP]

[Decker, Terry D.]

Taxonomically, the family is Cervidea or "deer" family.  "Elk" is a generic
word used to describe several of the largest members of the family,
primarily Alces alces in Europe and Cervus canadensis in North America.
Irish elk, for example, are a large extint deer of genus Megaceros,
demonstrating that at least three distinct genera have been referred to as
"elk."  "Moose" is a generic word for Alces americana.

The North American elk or wapiti has no equal sized counterpart in Europe.

Also included in the Cervidea are the reindeer and the caribou which can
taxonomically be lumped into Rangifer tarandus (or split out by sub-species
distinctions).  The term reindeer can be applied to both, but in common
usage refers to the Eurasian R. tarandus which has been domesticated as
opposed to the North American caribou which has not been domesticated.

Bear


> I just checked Alan Davidson and apparently the Europeans
> lump the Moose into the Elk family. And Elk were found in
> Europe... so maybe they had elk (smaller than a moose) in
> Europe. I shall have to check some other sources. Perhaps
> one only has to roast something the size of an elk???
>
> Johnnae llyn Lewis  Johnna Holloway