280 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



If. P. Dande] 



ALTAI WAPITI 



This is one of several Asiatic forms of the 'wapiti 



and South-eastern Europe. Here, 

 at the present day, stags of 

 enormous size and weight are 

 still to be found. In the Car- 

 pathian Alps, for example, red 

 deer stags are still to be shot 

 scaling more than 40 stone (clean) 

 in weight. Climate and feeding 

 have, of course, much to do with 

 the weight of stags and the size 

 and beauty of their antlers. The 

 Carpathian stags have enormous 

 range, rich food, and, as Mr.Baillie- 

 Grohman points out, are suffered 

 during the summer to " make 

 undisturbed raids upon the rich 

 agricultural valleys . . . the feudal 

 sway exercised by the great terri- 

 torial magnates permitting the 

 deer to trespass upon the crops 

 with impunity, and thus grow to- 

 be the lustiest of their race." 



In addition to the British 

 Islands, the red deer of Europe 

 is found on the Island of Hitteren, 

 on the western coast of Norway, in the south of Sweden, and in Germany, Russia, France, 

 Spain, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Greece. 



In Corsica and Sardinia a local and smaller race is found, probably closely allied to the 

 stag of North Africa. The BARBARY STAG is somewhat smaller than its first cousin of Europe, 

 and carries antlers which usually lack the second, or bez, tine. The colour of this stag is " a 

 dark sepia-brown, a little lighter and greyer on the back. Faint yellowish spots can occasionally 

 be distinguished on the fur in the adults," says Sir Harry Johnston. The hinds are of the same 

 colour as the stags, but lack the grey tint on the back. These fine deer are found in Algeria 

 and Tunis, their habitat being chiefly in pine and cork forests. They are found also in parts 

 of Morocco, near the frontiers of Algeria and Tunis, where their range extends from near the 

 Mediterranean to the verge of the Sahara Desert. Formerly the Barbary stag was hunted by 

 the Arabs on horseback by the aid of greyhounds. In Tunis, where it is protected by the 

 French, it is now fairly abundant. 



THE MARAL AND KASHMIR STAG 



The CASPIAN RED DEER, or MARAL, is a magnificent sub-species, incomparably the finest 

 representative of the red deer species. Standing about 4 feet 6 inches at the shoulder, a good 

 stag will weigh as much as 40 stone clean, in exceptional specimens probably a good deal more. 

 The range of this noble beast includes the Caspian provinces of North Persia, Transcaucasia, the 

 Caucasus, and the Crimea. There can be little doubt that the great stags shot in the Galician 

 Carpathians are Caspian red deer, and not the ordinary red deer of Western Europe. The 

 red deer of Turkey is, too, no doubt referable to this sub-species. 



Continuing our survey of typical deer, we come to the KASHMIR STAG, which is a magnificent 

 beast, standing as much as 4 feet 4 inches at the shoulder, and carrying antlers approaching' 

 the red deer type, which measure in fine specimens from 45 to 48 inches. The Kashmir stag, 

 often miscalled Barasingh by Indian sportsmen, makes its home in the forest regions of the 

 north side of the Kashmir Valley, ranging chiefly on altitudes of from 5,000 to 12,000 feet. 



