684 



FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



It has been found that even with very- 

 short open seasons, antelopes, mountain 

 goats, and mountain sheep were fast 

 nearing extermination, consequently the 

 killing of these animals had to be pro- 

 hibited indefinitely. As soon as they 

 multiply to an extent which will justify 

 the removal of the prohibition an open 

 season may again be proclaimed. Some 

 of these animals make regular seasonal 

 migrations in search of food and better 

 climatic condition. In these migrations 

 they usually take the same course year 

 after year. Hunters took advantage of 

 this to kill them in large numbers. 

 Thus near Gardiner, Montana, antelopes 

 were formerly slaughtered as they en- 

 tered and left the Yellowstone Park. 

 Finally the Montana legislature entirely 

 prohibited the killing of antelopes for an 

 indefinite period. Many other instances 

 of this sort have occurred and the game 

 has increased quite satisfactorily as a 

 result. 



Economic value— Aside from mere 

 considerations of sentiment the deer 

 family is worthy of some thought from 

 an economic standpoint. Thus the 

 number of elks in the Yellowstone Park 

 and in the vicinity of Jackson's Hole 

 has been estimated at 50,000. These 

 are worth at least $50 a head, so that the 

 total sum is no mean figure. The meat 

 of all the deer family is of excellent 

 quality and much relished. Then the 

 skins, horns, heads and in some cases 

 the teeth are of value. In fact, many 

 elks have been killed simply for the 

 teeth. In order to furnish the greatest 

 possible protection to the members of 

 the deer family, certain parts of the re- 

 serves have been set aside as game ref- 

 uges, where no hunting is allowed. 

 Furthermore, on account of the fact that 

 cattle and sheep in many instances now 

 occupy what was the winter range of 

 deer and elks the latter are forced to 

 remain higher up in the mountains in 

 winter, and therefore take greater risks 

 of being caught in deep snow and starv- 

 ing to death. This fatality happens 

 quite often, for we have several times 

 found the carcasses of deer and elks un- 

 der circumstances such that nothing else 

 could account for their death. Elks of- 

 ten come to the ranch buildings and eat 

 hay from the stack and some of the 

 more considerate ranchmen feed them 

 hay. Kecently the federal authorities 



have bought hay for this purpose and 

 thus saved the lives of many elks. 



Antelopes, elks, and deer if caught 

 when young are easily tamed and make 

 excellent and interesting pets. Young 

 animals of this sort may be brought up 

 on the bottle by using cow's milk. 



REINDEER AND CARIBOU 



While some scientists recognize seven 

 or more species of reindeer and caribou 

 they are for practical purposes all one 

 and the same thing, the scientific name 

 being Rangifer tarandus. Their natural 

 habitat is the northern regions of both 

 continents, Alaska, British America, 

 Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, 

 and Russia. Considering reindeer and 

 caribou as varieties of the same species 

 it may be said that their natural food is 

 mosses and lichens, particularly the 

 reindeer moss which is a lichen (Clado- 



Fig. 436 — YOUNG ROCKY MOUNTAIN SHEEP 



nia rangiferina). Two varieties of cari- 

 bou are recognized, the woodland or 

 southern variety, and the barren ground 

 or northern caribou. The woodland car- 

 ibou feeds more on grass, is smaller and 

 has less flattened horns. 



In size, reindeer vary greatly, depend- 

 ing on the character of the vegetation 

 and other factors. In some cases they 

 reach a larger size wild than in domes- 

 tication, but on an average the domesti- 

 cated reindeer are larger. A peculiar 

 character of reindeer and caribou is 

 that both males and females have horns 

 which are shed in March and April. 

 Reindeer have been most extensively 

 domesticated in Siberia, some individ- 

 ual owners holding herds as large as 

 15,000. About 250 of the Tunguse 



