224 THE WILDERNESS AND JUNGLE 



which may simultaneously make it suitable to 

 the needs of the smaller animal and no longer 

 habitable for the larger ? 



The moose is known in Europe as the u elk," 

 but the "elk," so-called, of America is a very 

 different animal, more correctly known as the 

 wapiti, a magnificent deer, and second in size 

 only to the moose itself. A big stag may 

 stand 5j ft. at the shoulder, and the record 

 antler is over 60 in., twenty-pointers having 

 been known. The wapiti is also found in the 

 Caucasus and in Manchuria. It used to be 

 common on the east side of America, but has 

 long been exterminated there, and now has 

 its last refuge in the Rocky Mountains, both 

 on the Canadian side and in Colorado and 

 Montana. The finest are found in Vancouver 

 Island and in the hills on the mainland 

 opposite. In other days, when these animals 

 were more plentiful and less suspicious of man, 

 they could be ridden down and shot with re- 

 volvers, much as Mr. Winans occasionally 

 rides down his park deer. Nowadays, how- 

 ever, the wapiti must be stalked and shot at 

 comparatively long range. The herd rests 

 during the greater part of the day, but also 

 feeds at intervals, and the easiest time to shoot 

 the stags is when they are challenging each 



