34 



GAME AND FUR-BEARING ANIMALS. 



MOOSE. 



Moose {Alces gigas). — Twenty-five years ago moose were hardly 

 known, except in the extreme north of this Province, and even there 

 they were scarce. It is probable there have always been a few of 

 this species in East Kootenay ; but, even so, a few years ago they were 

 thought to be a thing of the past. Of late years moose have been 

 steadily increasing, and within the last five years have multiplied at 

 such a rate they are to be found in numbers all over the northern 

 portion, and are again quite plentiful in Kootenay. 



The biggest and best heads are obtained in the Cassiar District, 

 which is an excellent covmtry to hunt them in, owing to the fact that 

 during the hunting season they range high up about the timber-line, 

 and sometimes even far above it, occasionally being seen right up on 

 the sheep- range. They can thus be seen a long way ofif and the best 

 heads chosen ; moreover, there is the sport of stalking them, which is 

 not the case when they are found in the timber. 



There are a good many moose north and east of Fort George, 

 in the Cariboo District, but owing to the dense forests they are not 

 easy to hunt. 



In North-East Kootenay the Ijulls do not run to the size of those 

 in Cassiar. but some very fair heads have been obtained there during 

 the past three open seasons. In this district they stay in the valleys 

 most of their time, but later in the year, during October and November, 

 must be looked for in the burnt patches some distance up the mountain- 

 sides. 



Owing to too many bulls having been killed in Kootenay, another 

 entire close season is probable. 



WAPITI. 

 Wapiti {Cervus canadensis). — The wapiti, commonly called elk, 

 at one time existed in large numbers throughout the whole of the 

 southern part of the Province ; even where the City of Vancouver 

 stands to-day old antlers are still to be found. Owing to a severe 

 epidemic, followed by a succession of hard winters, they almost all 

 died off, and the remainder fell a prey to the starving Indians, who 

 depended on them to a great extent for food. Since then they have 

 been quite replaced by the mule-deer in the interior, which during the 

 reign of the wapiti were scarce, and in a large measure by the 

 Columbia deer on the coast. 



