DEER FAMILY 



29 



NEWFOUNDLAND CARIBOU 

 Rangifer terraenovae Bangs 



General Description. — See general de?cription of 

 Woodland Caribou. Antlers massive with many points, 

 general shape low. widely spread and points directed 

 forward. Color lighter, more white on feet. 



Dental Formula. — See dental formula given for 

 Woodland Caribou. 



Pelage. — .Adults : Autumn. Body above grayish- 

 brown, lighter on flanks and nearly pure white on 

 ventral surface. Neck all around soiled-whitish, rather 

 lighter in front ; broad faintly defined eye-ring. Lower 



face, nose and terminal part of lower jaw grayish- 

 white. Under surface of tail and buttocks white. Feet 

 white. Front and outer surface of limbs brownish- 

 gray. 



Measurements. — About the same as Woodland 

 Caribou 



Range. — Newfoundland. 



Food. — Leaves, twigs and moss. 



Remarks. — A heavy-antlered relative of the Wood- 

 land Caribou. 



Newfoundland is one home of the Caribou 

 where, thanks to the excellent game laws in 

 force, it will be able to exist secure from the 

 probability of extinction for many years to 

 come. Mr. J. G. Millais, writing in 1907 

 ("Newfoundland and its Untrodden \\"ays"), 

 considered 200,000 to be a fair estimate of the 

 number of animals of this species then on the 

 island. Every native is allowed to kill three Cari- 

 bou, but the total annual slatighter is estimated 

 at not more than 6 per cent. Naturalists are in- 

 debted to one sportsman, Mr. A. A. Radclyfife 

 Dugmore, for an intimate account of the life of 

 this Caribou. It should be explained that he 

 hunted with a camera, and the results of his 

 campaigns are giveti in his " The Romance of 

 the Newfoundland Caribou." 



A good stag of the Newfoundland species 

 stands four feet high at the shoulder, and its 

 length varies from six feet to nearly seven feet. 

 Its weight would be between 300 and 500 pounds. 

 The does are less, both in size and weight. The 

 color of the pelage varies so much, both with 

 the seasons and in individual animals, that only 

 an approximate description can be given. In 

 summer, it is general!)' a rather dark mouse- 

 gray, shading to almost white on the flanks. 

 There is a white ring round the eyes, and the 

 ears are very light gray. In atitumn, the white 

 neck is conspicuous on the stags, less noticeable 

 in the does. The flanks and underparts are 

 v,hite or very light buff-gray, shading upward 

 to the shoulders, back, and the upper part of 

 the hips, which are all of a warm gray or brown. 

 The tail .3 about seven inches long and con- 

 spicuously white. The nose is white or nearly 

 so ; the throat and below the ears nearly always 

 white, as is also the throat mane. This mane 

 varies in length from two to twelve inches. The 

 legs are sometimes light and sometimes dark. 

 The winter coloring is very light gray or white. 



Of the antlers Mr. Dugmore says: "In a 

 general way the Newfoundland stag carries a 

 more massive antler than that carried by even 

 its closest cousins." Quite a number of the does 

 are hornless, as many as twenty-four without 

 horns having been counted in a herd of 300. 



The mating season is in October, the first 

 three weeks. The stag " believes in a plurality 

 of wives — a great plurality; in fact, as many 

 as he can keep under control." Sometimes the 

 stags leave all their does and take possession 

 of an entirely new herd. Fighting for the pos- 

 session of the does is not at all uncommon, and 

 Mr. Dugmore photographed two stags in the 

 thick of such a conflict. Unless a heavy snow- 

 fall occtirs, the Caribou remain near their sum- 

 mer quarters tip in the higher lands until the 

 rutting-time is over. With the first heavy fall 

 after the middle of October the migration south- 

 ward to the winter home begins. The animals 

 move in groups of two and three to herds of 

 100 or more. Each herd is usually led by a doe. 

 Sometimes the pairing season atid the migration 

 occtir together. At this time the stag presents 

 " a striking contrast to the shy, retiring crea- 

 ture of the preceding months ; and yet even 

 greater contrast to the woebegone, miserable 

 beast of the succeeding weeks. . . . It is indeed 

 difficult to believe that this is the same animal, 

 so great is the change. And yet the sportsmen 

 who hunt the Caribou tistially see them at no 

 other time. How can we wonder at the wretched 

 drawings so frequently seen supposed to rep- 

 resent the mighty stag ? " On the migrations 

 each herd has its sentry. Their speed " is not 

 less than five or six miles an hour when they 

 walk, which is their usual gait ; only under 

 rather exceptional circumstances do they trot 

 for any distance, while they seldom resort to 

 galloping unless they are frightened. On warm 



