DEER FAMILY 



'■ Monarch of the glen, lord of the wilderness, 

 king of the red deer tribe is the Wapiti," says 

 Singer. " The antlers are the most magnificent 

 trophies yielded by any of our American game 

 animals, save the single ]iossible exception of the 

 giant Alaskan moose. Even so, the length of 

 horn of the Wapiti with its wide, graceful sweep, 

 long tines, massiveness, and symmetry is more 

 admired and desired by many than the huge, 

 heavy, grotesque antlers of the moose." 



Naturalists and sportsmen agree in designating 

 the Wapiti or " Elk " as the handsomest of the 

 deer kind. "A creature of regal presence," " the 

 lordliest animal on earth," are among the descrip- 

 tions of it one finds in the diaries of hunters and 

 in works on natural history ; Colonel Theodore 

 Roosevelt considers it to be " the grandest of the 

 deer kind throughout the world ' and its antlers 

 as " marvels of symmetrical grandeur." 



"A full-grown Wapiti is normally of twelve 

 tines," says Singer. " The cows grow no antlers, 

 ditTering in this respect from the caribou cows 

 which grow small pointed antlers. It would not 

 be amiss at this point to call attention to the 

 difference between horns and antlers. A horn 

 is a hollow sheath growing over a bony substance, 

 and except in the case of the antelope, it is never 

 shed. Horns are worn by both sexes of all bison, 

 buffaloes, antelopes, sheep, goats and cattle. 

 An antler is a solid bone throughout, growing 

 from the skull, and is shed every year close to 

 the skull, and quickly regrown. They are worn 

 by nearly all male members of the deer family — 

 moose, wapiti, caribou, deer, etc." 



The Wapiti is one of the round-horned deer. 

 For an animal of its size and weight, its legs 

 are comparatively slender. It carries its head 

 high, and has a luxuriant mane. The general 

 body color is a pale tawny brown : the head, 

 neck, and chest are dark brown ; and there is a 

 large yellowish white patch on the rump. The 

 coat is shed between May and the middle of 

 September. 



A native of North America, the history of the 

 "Wapiti is a repetition of that of the Bison ■ — 

 persistent and ruthless slaughter by man. In 

 former times it was found over most of the 

 North American continent, from Mexico to 

 A'ancouver, and from New Jersey across the 

 Alleghenies to the Pacific coast. It lived, like 

 the Buffalo, on the open plains. In 1849 in the 

 great valley of San Joaquin, in California, bands 

 of Wapiti numbering many thousands roamed 

 like cattle. Today it is confined chiefly to the 

 northern region of the Rocky Mountains, but 



nowhere can it be said to be abundant except in 

 the Yellowstone National Park, where perhaps 

 there are some 30,000. Small herds and scattered 

 individuals are occasionally met with in various 

 States, and Wapiti from private parks and pre- 

 serves have from time to time been liberated in 

 various forests, as by Mr W. C. Whitney in the 

 Adirondacks, in the Saranac Lake region, and 

 elsewhere. It is gratifying to note that the num- 

 ber of States in which this lordly animal receives 

 protection is increasing. 



The King of the Cervidse, for as such is the 

 Wapiti looked upon, differs from his lesser kin, 

 the Mule Deer, in that he is more gregarious and 

 highly polygamous. Another point of difference 

 is that he is, not given to feeding at night, but at 

 the first indication of day and in the late after- 

 noon. During the day they lie down usually on 

 an open, sunny hillslope facing the south, or in 

 the timber if much hunted. In winter when the 

 snow is deep they are naturally more inclined to 

 browsing, even standing on their hind legs to 

 enable them to reach higher up in the trees. 

 They are especially fond of aspen, birch and the 

 tops of the willows. In winter they gather in 

 large bands and keep the snow well trodden 

 down in the locality which they have selected. 



The shedding of the antlers of the full grown 

 stag usually takes place late in December or dur- 

 ing the month of January. The spike.-horn bulls 

 do not shed until much later, often as late as 

 May or June. They are proud of their little 

 sharp antlers, and do not hesitate to remind with 

 a prod the old bulls who have shed, that they 

 are still well armed. The new antlers begin to 

 sprout in March or April, and during the sum- 

 mer while growing they are covered with hair, 

 and are soft and full of blood, with club-like 

 knobs. In this condition they are spoken of as 

 being " in the velvet." It is a great drain on 

 their system while this remarkable growth is 

 going on. The stags grow thin and the fear of 

 hurting their young antlers, which are very ten- 

 der, makes them quite timid and inoffensive. 

 By the middle of August the antlers are com- 

 pletely grown and the covering or velvet is then 

 rubbed off against trees and bushes, and the 

 ends of the tines polished. For many are the 

 battles to be fought before gaining full possession 

 of a harem. 



The mating season varies in different localities, 

 but usually begins in September. At this time 

 the bulls become very pugnacious : their necks 

 swell: and they challenge continually. The call, 

 or " bugle," of the male Wapiti is described by 



