CHAPTER IV 



THE GAME ANIMALS OF CANADA 



It has already been pointed out that Canada and Alaska 

 constitute the last strongholds of the chief "big game" 

 animals of the North American continent. Although their 

 numbers have decreased, the larger mammals of our native 

 fauna may still be found in fair numbers in our forests and 

 on our mountains. 



In this chapter I propose to deal with the larger members 

 of our wild life, and to describe as briefly as possible their 

 distribution, habits, and abundance. A knowledge of these 

 facts is essential to an understanding of the need for their 

 conservation, and of the steps by which this may be ac- 

 complished. This is especially important in the case of 

 the musk-ox and the antelope, which are the two most in- 

 teresting and scientifically unique of our large native mam- 

 mals, and which will be exterminated within a few years 

 unless absolute protection is given to them and rigorously 

 enforced. Further, the great possibility of utilizing such 

 larger members of our wild hfe as the barren-ground caribou 

 and deer as a source of meat has been urged, and the facts 

 that will be set forth in this chapter will serve to empha- 

 size and lead to a greater appreciation of this potential food 

 supply. 



THE WAPITI, OR ELK 



The wapiti or elk {Cervus canadensis) is the handsomest 

 of all our native deer, and next to the moose it is the largest. 

 It is the North American representative of the European 

 red deer, and formerly was the most widely distributed 



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