148 THE DEER FAMILY 



they have attracted the attention of all travellers who 

 have had opportunities of observing them." 



The woodland caribou is much larger than a deer 

 and measures four feet at the withers. A typical 

 specimen in the New York Zoological Park weighed 

 280 pounds. The head of the caribou is not so hand- 

 some as that of the elk or deer, but he is not so homely 

 as a moose. The horns are large and heavy and re- 

 semble those of the moose more than those of the 

 deer. They may be said to be intermediate between the 

 two, being palmated, but not widely as in the case of 

 moose. In outline the caribou is not so graceful as the 

 deer. He is stockier, and the body is more like that 

 of the mule-deer than the Virginia deer. 



The color of the caribou is grayish brown on the 

 body and legs. The belly and rump are yellowish white. 

 The color is said to be much paler in winter; a wood- 

 land caribou will weigh as much as 500 pounds, possi- 

 bly more. 



The feet of the caribou are peculiar. Grinnell says: 

 "The foot is broad and spreading, and the supplemen- 

 tary hooflets or dew-claws are large, the whole being 

 admirably adapted for supporting the animal in its 

 passage through marshes or over the snow. The thin, 

 horny shell which forms the border of the hoof also 

 serves it well when travelling on the ice. The repre- 

 sentatives of the second and fourth digits contribute 

 something to the support of the animal's weight, and 

 are always more or less worn and abraded on their in- 

 ferior surfaces. When the animal trots swiftly, these 

 dew-claws strike against one another with a loud, 

 clattering noise." Mr. Ward refers to this noise as the 



