CERVID.'K 47 



"Wapiti" ajipcars to have been the lr()(|u<)is name of the ani- 

 mal eomnionlv ealled the American "iClk." The h'nropean h'lk 

 is closely related to the American Moose, while the European 

 analogue of the Wapiti Deer is the Red Deer or Stag-; hence 

 "Elk" is misappilied as a name for the American animal, and 

 Wapiti, as the next best known name, should be used. 



Wapiti prefer forests moderately free of undergrowth, in 

 mountainous or hilly regions. The food is coarse and varied, 

 consisting largely of leaves and twigs. They are good trotters 

 and usually adopt that gait for rapid traveling- nnless very nmch 

 hurried, when they break into a fast run. Tbis gait an old 

 fat buck cannot sustain long before coming to bay, but poor or 

 young- animals can run a considerable distance. The voice is 

 high, sharp and forcible, but is only used in defiance or in great 

 alarm. 



Wapiti are somewhat gregarious and are occasionally seen 

 in large herds in the Rocky Mountains. They are polygamous, 

 the strongest bucks gathering a small band of does in the rut- 

 ting seasou and driving away weaker rivals. The rutting season 

 cf the eastern species is September and the fawns are dropped 

 about May; pro'bably the same dates hold good for our species. 

 The bucks are tyrannical to the members of their harem. Twins 

 ^re infrequent. The venison of Wapiti is not as tender as that 

 of the smaller Deer, but it is very nutritious. It is very dif- 

 ficult to preserve. Still hunting ou foot is the usual method of 

 hunting Wapiti, and in northwestern California this is practically 

 the ouly method available. 



Cervus nannodes Mkrrtam. (Small.) 



CALIFORNIA WAPITI. 



Size small; legs short; coloration pale; head, neck and 

 shoulders grizzled grayish brown ; back and flanks varying from 

 buffy gray to grizzled buffy whitish; front of legs and feet light 

 tawny; rump patch white, small and narrow. 



