Rocky Mountain Wapiti 5 i 



THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN WAPITI 



i^Cervi/s canadensis) 



(Plate I. Fig. 8) 



In spite of all that has been written to show its complete distinctness, 

 it is still not uncommon in sporting literature to see the wapiti (persistently- 

 miscalled elk in America) spoken of as a mere variety of the red deer of 

 Europe and Western Asia. In one sense indeed, the two animals are very 

 closely allied, both belonging to the typical group of the genus Ccrvi/s, 

 in which, as a rule, the antlers of the stags have a more or less rounded 

 beam, with brow-, bez-, and trez-tines, above which are a variable number 

 of points collectively known as the sur-royals. The two also agree in many 

 characters, such as the presence of a light-coloured patch surrounding and 

 including the short tail, and of a light-coloured tuft of hair, marking the 

 position of a gland, high up on the outer side of the hind cannon-bone, the 

 relatively large size of the naked area on the muzzle, and the dappled 

 coat of the fawn. But there are essential differences between the two, 

 which, if once fully realised, will never permit the one animal to be 

 confounded with the other. Most important of all are the distinctive 

 characters afforded by the antlers of the stags. In the first place, as a 

 general rule, wapiti-antlers are not cupped at the crown, after the manner 

 so common in the red deer of Western Europe. Not that cups are never 

 seen in the antlers of the wapiti, for there are many examples in which 

 distinct cupping occurs, and there may even be a common characteristic 

 in certain localities ; but, as a general thing, cupping is conspicuous by its 

 absence. And when such cupping does occur, there is no difficulty in 

 distinguishing a wapiti-antler at a glance from that of any red deer. In 

 fully adult antlers (such as the pair represented in the figure on 



