9 66 THE UNGULATES, OR HOOFED MAMMALS 



which are above their reach, elk in America, at least, have a curious habit of strad- 

 dling on either side of the stem with their fore-legs, and then gradually pressing down 

 the tree with the weight of their body. 



In America, elk commence feeding with the first signs of dawn, and continue till 

 sunrise, after which they repose or ruminate till ten or eleven o'clock. From that 

 time they again feed till about two, when they take another period of repose till four 

 or five, and then feed till dusk, when they lie down for the night. Mr. L,ockhart 

 says that "elk generally lie down with their tails to windward, trusting to their 

 senses of hearing and smelling, which are remarkably acute, to warn them of approach- 

 ing danger from that quarter. They can use their eyes to warn them from danger to 

 leeward, where hearing, and especially smelling would be of little use. While sleep- 

 ing or chewing the cud, their ears are in perpetual motion, one backward, the other 

 forward, alternately. They also have the remarkable instinct to make a short turn 

 and sleep below the wind of their fresh track, so that any one falling thereon and fol- 

 lowing it up is sure to be heard or smelled before he can get within shooting distance. ' ' 



In summer the favorite resorts of the American elk are in the neighborhood of 

 swamps, rivers, or lakes, where long grasses which can be easily reached grow in 

 rank abundance. In winter, however, they generally betake themselves to higher 

 grounds, although always those clothed with dense and almost impenetrable forest. 

 When disturbed, the elk, in spite of his great bulk, makes off with extreme rapidity 

 and almost perfect silence, even in the thickest cover, always when possible select- 

 ing moss-clad and yielding ground over which to make its w r ay. 



In winter, elk in America are in the habit of consorting in small parties, often 

 comprising a male, female, and the young of two seasons, and taking up their quar- 

 ters in what is termed a moose yard. ' ' The yard, ' ' writes Mr. C. C. Ward, ' ' is 

 situated in some part of the country where there is an abundant growth of young 

 deciduous trees, such as the white birch, poplars, maple and mountain ash; these, 

 together with a few of the coniferous trees, the balsam fir and juniper, form the 

 staple diet of the moose. Some writers maintain that the bull moose never yards 

 with the female and young, but this is disproved by my own experience as a moose 

 hunter. ... I have on many occasions found and killed males occupying the 

 same yard with the old and young females." It appears, however, that very old 

 males generally make a yard for themselves, and remain alone throughout the winter. 



The antlers of the adult elk are shed in America during January, and the new 

 pair attain their full development in August. During the time that the antlers 

 have been in the velvet, the male elk has spent most of his time in the marshes 

 and swamps, feeding on the leaves of the yellow water lily, and frequently protect- 

 ing himself from the attacks of mosquitoes and other insect torments by standing 

 neck-deep in the water. With the complete development of his antlers, he sallies 

 forth from these retreats to commence calling, and to enter upon a series of combats 

 with his rivals for the possession of the females. These contests appear to be fully 

 as fierce and determined as those of the red deer; and Mr. Ward records finding in 

 a lake the skulls of two elk, with their antlers inextricably interlocked, which had 

 evidently perished after one of these encounters. The fawns are born in the follow- 

 ing May, and are either one or two, or, very exceptionally, three in number. They 



