THE GAME ANIMALS OF CANADA 73 
nalling apparatus to other members of the herd, and all 
observers have testified as to the value of this natural 
heliograph. 
Habits.—In the days of antelope abundance they formed 
herds varying in numbers from a few individuals to several 
hundred during the fall, and these herds consisted of adults 
of both sexes and young. In September or October the 
bucks vigorously contest for the possession of the does, and 
soon the most vigorous bucks have rounded up their small 
bands of chosen does. With the advent of winter the herds 
migrate, sometimes for a hundred miles or more, to seek the 
more sheltered regions of their range in the low hills and 
foot-hills, and here among the coulees they pass the winter. 
To-day these herds do not often number more than about 
fifty animals. 
With the return of spring the herds split up. The does 
seek such solitude as they may be able to find, and in 
May or June they give birth, usually to two fawns, which 
remain with their mother all summer. In the fall the 
males drift in again, and the seasonal life history is re- 
peated. 
It is a singular fact that it is practically impossible to 
keep the antelope in captivity. Hornaday, who has had 
great experience in this respect, states: ‘‘Owing to the ex- 
treme difficulty in maintaining this species in captivity, its 
total extinction at an early date seems absolutely certain, 
unless it is fully and permanently protected in a wild state, 
on its native range, for a long period.” 
Distribution and Abundance in Canada.—In Canada it 
formerly ranged, probably in an abundance almost equal 
to that of the buffalo, from southern Manitoba westward 
to the Rocky Mountains and northward as far as Edmon- 
ton. Seton* gives what would appear to be the last record 
of the occurrence of the antelope in Manitoba, where it is 
* “Tife Histories of Northern Animals,” vol. I, pp. 215-216. | 
