Rocky Mountain Wapiti 



53 



season, and race, from chestnut-brown to almost black. In late winter it 

 becomes dirty white on the back. The young are fully spotted, but no 

 trace of dappling persists in the adult. 



There is one more very important attribute of the wapiti by which it 



Fig. 12. — Wapiti in the New York Zoological Park. From the Nctos Bullet'ni of the New I'ork 



Zoological Society for May 1900. 



is distinguished from its cousin the red deer. This is the cry ot the stags 

 in the breeding season, which, instead of being a roar, is a long and pro- 

 longed squeal, gradually ending off in a more guttural tone. 



The true or typical wapiti, long supposed to be the only representative 

 of its kind, is the animal inhabiting the flanks of the Rocky Mountains and 

 the regions eastward. It is a heavily-built creature, attaining to a height 



