MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 



277 



Fig. 21. European Reindeer, 



ply, especially in the far north. In summer they delight to 

 feed upon the rich grass of river bottoms, taking good care, 

 however, to keep clear of the thickets which might shelter 

 their enemies. The writer has encountered the caribou in 

 Minnesota only about the head waters of the White-face river 

 and along the St. Louis river near Knife Falls. There it was 

 in 1884 not rare, though so shy as to be secured with difficulty. 

 Along the north shore of Lake Superior it is less shy and the 

 animals may be seen feeding quietly in groups along the up- 

 land meadows. It also occurs in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick 

 and Maine. Thence it ranges west to the Pacific, but does not 

 extend south of Lake Superior. Along the Pacific the range 

 extends nearly to the Arctic, but the Barren-ground species 

 takes the ]31ace in central British America as far south as 60 

 or farther. The range is more restricted eastward perhaps 

 because of the greater rigor of the climate. 



