Scandinavian Reindeer 27 



presence of a light ring round the eye of the stag ; and it may be added 

 that the upper surface of the very short tail is but little darker than the 

 sides and lower surface, which are white. ^ Antlers of Scandinavian rein- 

 deer measuring 59^, 59, and 58 inches are recorded in Mr. Rowland 

 Ward's Reconh of Big Game. From 16 to 20 stone is stated to be the 

 usual weight of stags of two or three years of age, but Mr. Abel 

 Chapman mentions having killed one enormous old stag which scaled 

 30 stone. 



From Scandinavia and Lapland the typical race of the reindeer extends 

 into Russia, but in some parts of Asia it seems to be replaced by a larger 

 race akin to or identical with the American woodland reindeer. And 

 even in Kazan it is stated that reindeer stags are larger than Scandinavian 

 examples, while the hinds are frequently devoid of antlers. In the last- 

 named district reindeer are not known south of lat. 54", although in the 

 Urals they descend to lat. 52". In addition to the Spitzbergen form, 

 reindeer are met with in Novaia Zemlia, at Cape Chelyuskin, and in 

 Phipps and Parry Islands, between 80' and 81" N. lat. 



In company with ptarmigan and lemmings, reindeer in Norway are 

 inhabitants of the high fejlds. In summer the herds consist mainly of 

 hinds ; the stags probably betaking themselves to the valleys, being 

 apparently less susceptible to the attacks of mosquitoes than are their 

 partners. Excellent accounts of the habits of wild reindeer and reindeer- 

 stalking will be found in Captain L. Lloyd's Field Sports of the North (1842) 

 and Scandinavian Adventures (1854), Mr. E. N. Buxton's Short Stalks (1892), 

 and in Wild Norway by Mr. Abel Chapman. 



Some speculations as to the migration in former times of the reindeer, 

 and the relation of the Old World to the American forms, have been pub- 

 lished by Dr. R. F. Scharff in his History of the European Fauna (1899). 

 It is there stated that two types of reindeer occur fossil in Europe, one of 



' In Deer of All Liiruls the arcist has not paid sufficient attention to these details. 



