92 A. L. V. Manniche. The terrestrial mammals and birds of N.-E. Greenland. 



Only in exceptional cases fragments of the skeletons of the ani- 

 mals were found. These are quickly gnawed to pieces by foxes and 

 wolves, moreover they would be much less qualified to resist the 

 devastating influence of time than the horns. Also the foot-prints 

 of the animals were everywhere obliterated. These facts seem to 

 imply that the parts of the country concerned have not been inha- 

 bited by reindeer during the last decenniums, as the traces of the 

 animals left on clayey ground no doubt wall remain untouched for 

 several years in arctic countries. 



The hard dry dung of the animal is sure to be able to resist 

 the influence of centuries, if it falls in places deprived of vegetation 

 and not exposed to the inundation of melt water. 



