438 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1963 



legislature in 1949 passed an act encouraging capture and killing of 

 wild boars, and fixing responsibility for property damage by them. 

 Outside of tlie preserve, they may be hunted without limit at any 

 season; a license is required, and hunting at night is not permitted. 

 The reported kills outside the preserve in recent years have been as 

 follows : 25 in 1958, 20 in 1959, 12 in 1960, and 3 in 1961. This is a sport 

 for the rugged, and relatively few attempt it. 



American elk, Gerous canadensis. — Sixty were introduced from 

 northern Minnesota in 1891. They did well from the first, and were 

 said to have increased by 50 percent after a year ; at one time they were 

 estimated at 1,000. "Many perished during the severe winter of 1897, 

 and in 1903 the estimated number was only 300" (Palmer, 1910) . The 

 elk — particularly the cows — soon became nearly as tame as cattle; 

 furthermore, they provided serious competition for the deer's fodder, 

 and were not considered desirable on the preserve. Plowever, they 

 have persisted to the present. 



In 1903, Corbin presented eight cows and four bulls to the State for 

 release by the Andover Fish and Game Club. In time, they caused 

 damage to orchards and other croplands. Concerning restoration 

 efforts in the Adirondacks of New York, Seton (1929, 3 : 17) notes that 

 in March 1906, "We obtained from Austin Corbin 26 Wapiti, which 

 were successfully released." In 1933, 2 more bulls and 10 cows were 

 released on the Pillsbury Reservation, in Washington and Goshen 

 townships, New Hampshire, where they increased. The hurricane of 

 1938 leveled many fences, permitting the escape of elk which still range 

 the surrounding country. Elk records in Vermont since this time have 

 been attributed to wandering individuals from this herd (Foote, 1944) . 



Red deer, Gervus elaphus. — Five were originally imported from 

 England, and six more in 1895. The population in 1898 numbered 14, 

 of which only 2 were known to be hinds. The stags were suspected 

 of breeding with elk cows, and six supposed hybrids were noted. A 

 few red deer persisted until 1908, and then they disappeared. 



Mule deer, Odocoileus hemionus. — Several writers mention black- 

 tailed and mule deer among the early introductions, but their source 

 is not stated. Apparently they soon disappeared. Whether they were 

 absorbed by the increasing population of white-tailed deer, or repre- 

 sent a case of mistaken identity, may never be known. 



"\Vhite-tailed deer, Odocoileits virginianus. — Native deer had disap- 

 peared from the region long before the establishment of the park. In 

 1891, Corbin imported over 70 from near the northern Minnesota 

 border and from Ontario and Quebec. The first shipment evoked 

 much interest when unloaded at the Newport railhead, for none of the 

 local residents had ever seen a deer alive (L. M., 1959). As would be 

 expected, they did extremely well. Within a few years they numbered 

 250 and, according to some estimates, surpassed 1,000 by the turn of the 



