ON THE MAMMALIA OF THIS DISTRICT. 221 



and seem rather to court than shun the society of 

 man if he comes as a friend. Their habits much 

 resemble the kangaroo. They seem always to 

 keep to one spot, have their favourite camping 

 places and feeding grounds, and are very partial 

 to swampy forests. They have their regular runs, 

 and appear to be as easily driven as tame cattle in 

 any direction that may suit the driver. When they 

 have once fixed upon a certain tract, they never 

 leave it unless driven away ; and when once in a 

 forest, the owner may always reckon upon keeping 

 up his breed, provided the wolves (their worst 

 enemies when the snow is deep) do not molest 

 them. 



The stomachs of all the elk that we opened 

 were filled with the shoots of the bilberry (Vacci- 

 nuvm myrtillus), but their principal food I take to 

 be grass and the leaves and tender shoots of 

 several species of green trees, especially the aspen. 

 Thanks to the stringent manner in which they 

 are preserved, these noble animals are yearly 

 spreading over our Wermland forests, and in 

 fact a stray elk is now occasionally seen very far 

 south. The season for killing them is limited to 

 two months September and October; and the 

 penalty for killing one in close-time is heavy, with 

 forfeiture of the animal and the gun. This is 

 about the only clause in the Swedish Game Laws 



