THE LARGER NORTH AMERICAN MAMMALS 



453 



wheeled in curiosity to gaze at the passing 

 train, never failed to excite the deepest interest. 



In early days prong-horns were noted for 

 their curiosity and were frequently lured within 

 gun-shot by waving a red flag or by other de- 

 vices. I have repeatedly seen them circle or 

 race a team, or a horseman, crossing their 

 range. In racing a horseman traveling along 

 an open road or trail they gradually draw 

 nearer until finally every member of the band 

 dashes madly by only a few yards in front and 

 then straight away across the plains in full 

 flight. 



The prong-horns appear to possess a highly 

 nervous temperament, which requires for their 

 welfare the wide free sweep of the open plains. 

 They do not thrive and increase in inclosures. 

 even in large game preserves, as do deer, elk, 

 and buff'alo. For this reason, it will require 

 the greatest care to protect and foster these 

 attractive members of our fauna to save them 

 from soon being numbered among the many 

 wild species whicli have been destroyed by the 

 coming of civilized man. 



WAPITI, OR AMERICAN ELK (Cervus 

 canadensis and its relatives) 



By a curious transposition of names the 

 early settlers applied to the American wapiti 

 the term elk, wiiich belongs to the European 

 representative of our moose. Our elk is a 

 close relative of the European stag. It is the 

 handsomest and, next to liie moose, the largest 

 member of the deer family in America. The 

 old bulls, weighing more than 800 pounds, bear 

 superb widely branched antlers, which give 

 them a picturesque and noble mien. This is 

 the only American deer which has a well- 

 marked light rump-patch. Tiie young, num- 

 bering from one to three, are white spotted, 

 like the fawns of other deer. 



Originally the elk was the most wide ranging 

 of our hoofed game animals. It occupied all 

 the continent from nortli of Peace River, Can- 

 ada, south to southern New Mexico, and from 

 central Massachusetts and North Carolina to 

 the Pacific coast of California. Like the buf- 

 falo, it appeared to be equally at home in the 

 forested region east of the Mississippi River 

 and on the open plains flanking the Rocky 

 Mountains. Its range also extended from sea- 

 level to above timberline on lofty mountain 

 ranges. 



Exterminated throughout most of their orig- 

 inal range, elk still occupy some of their early 

 haunts in western Canada, Montana, Wyo- 

 ming, Colorado, and the Pacific Coast States. 

 The last elk was killed in Pennsylvania about 

 60 years ago, and in Michigan and Minnesota 

 some 20 years later. The main body of the 

 survivors are now in the Yellowstone Park 

 region. Tlieir size and the readiness with 

 which they thrive in captivity has led to serious 

 consideration of elk farming as an industry. 



In the West, before the settlement of their 

 range crowded the elk back, large numbers 

 lived throughout the year on the plains and 

 among the foothills. They have now become 

 mountain animals, spending the spring and 



summer largely in the timberline forests and 

 alpine meadows, where many bands linger until 

 the heavy snows of early winter force them 

 down to the foothills and valleys. During the 

 last days of^ their abundance in the Rocky 

 Mountains winter herds numbering thousands 

 gathered in Estes Park and other foothill 

 valleys. 



Elk are the most polygamous of all our deer, 

 each bull gathering a small herd of cows dur- 

 ing the fall. At the beginning of the mating 

 season the bulls wander widely through the 

 high forest glades, their musical bugling pierc- 

 ing the silence with some of the most stirring 

 notes of the wilderness. Amid the w-ild gran- 

 deur of these remote mountain fastnesses the 

 appearance of a full-antlered buck on the sky- 

 line of some bare ridge presents a noble pic- 

 ture of wild life. 



There are probably over 40,000 elk still left 

 in the United States, and of these more than 

 30,000 are located in Wyoming, mainly in and 

 about Yellowstone National Park. 



During the last few years great interest has 

 been shown in the reintroduction of elk in 

 parts of their former range, where they had 

 been exterminated and where conditions are 

 still suitable for their perpetuation. Such ef- 

 forts are meeting with much success. Not 

 only do tiie animals thrive and increase rapidly, 

 but local sentiment is almost unanimous in 

 their favor. This is well shown by the active 

 interest taken by both cattle and sheep owners 

 in northern Arizona in regard to a band of elk 

 introduced a few years ago on their mountain 

 stock ranges. The stockmen exercise a virtual 

 wardenship over these animals that insures 

 them against molestation, and the herd is rap- 

 idly increasing. 



As against this, we have the despicable work 

 of poachers, who are shooting elk for their 

 two canine teeth and leaving the body to the 

 coyotes. Information has been received that 

 more than 500 elk were ruthlessly slaughtered 

 for this purpose about the border of Yellow- 

 stone National Park during the winter of 

 1915-1916. 



MULE DEER (Odocoileus hemionus and 



its subspecies) 



Mule deer are larger than the common white- 

 tails, with a heavier, stockier form. Their 

 strongest characteristics lie in the large doubly 

 branching antlers, large broad ears, and 

 rounded whitish tail with a brusblike black 

 tip. Their common name in this country and 

 the name "venado burro" in ]\Iexico are de- 

 rived from the great, donkeylike ears. Their 

 antlers vary much in size, but in some exam- 

 ples are almost intermediate between those of 

 the white-tail and of the elk. Antlers of the 

 mule deer and of the black-tail agree in hav- 

 ing the tines all pronged, in contrast with the 

 single spikes of the white-tails. In summer 

 these deer have a rich, rusty red coat which is 

 exchanged in winter for one of grayish brown. 



The range of mule deer extends from north- 

 ern Alberta, Manitoba, and western Iowa to 

 the State of San Luis Potosi, on the Mexican 



