72 Sport and Life. 



The Biological Society of Washington has lately proposed 

 to mark this difference between wapiti inhabiting the Rocky 

 Mountains and those frequenting the Pacific Coast districts by 

 calling the latter Cervus roosevelti, or Roosevelt's Wapiti, a dis- 

 tinction with which I entirely agree. The following is the 

 description given by Mr. C. Hart Merriam, of the Smithsonian 

 Museum : 



General characters : Size, large ; head and legs, black (probably only 

 in winter pelage) ; skull and antlers, massive ; beams of antlers relatively 

 short and straight, with terminal prong aborted. 



Cranial characters : The skull of Cervus roosevelti, compared with that 

 of Cervus canadensis from the Rocky Mountains, is much larger, broader, 

 and more massive. The frontals are not only conspicuously broader but 

 are very much flatter, giving the cranium a different profile. The muzzle 

 also is much broader. The cavities in front of the orbits, on the other 

 hand, are decidedly smaller. 



The antlers are large, heavy, and relatively short, with the terminal 

 prongs aborted, so that the total length from burr to tip is about 5Oomm. 

 (about 2oin.) less than in well-formed antlers of the Rocky Mountain elk. 

 The brow, bez, trez, and fourth tine are similar to those of the ordinary 

 wapiti, but above the fourth the antler is flattened and sub-palmate, and 

 ends in two or three sharp points, the tips of which reach only slightly 

 above the tip of the fourth prong. 



Geographic distribution : Roosevelt's wapiti inhabits the dense 

 coniferous forests of the humid Pacific coast strip, from near the northern 

 end of Vancouver Island southward through the coast ranges of 

 Washington and Oregon to north-western California. 



It will be seen that this description does not refer to another 

 very characteristic difference, namely, the more rufous colour of the 

 coast district antlers and their smoother appearance. Rarely does 

 one see finely pearled antlers, for in consequence, I suppose, of 

 the density of the timber they appear much more " rubbed," i.e., less, 

 pearled. To me, if I may express an opinion, they lack some 

 points of beauty possessed by most of the trophies obtained in the 

 Rockies proper. 



Concerning the present distribution of the wapiti, a few remarks 

 may be offered in correction of the misleading statements made by 



