$9 6 ELEMENTARY ZOOLOGY 



the mouth, thoroughly masticates it, and swallows it 

 again, but into another stomach-chamber. From this it 

 passes through the other two into the intestine. 



The deer family (Cervidae) comprises the familiar Vir- 

 ginia or red deer (Odoccileus americamis) of the Eastern 

 and Central States and the white-tailed, black-tailed, and 

 mule deers of the West, the great-antlered elk or wapiti 

 (Ccrvtis canadensis) (fig. 154), the great moose (Alee 

 amcricand] (fig. 152), largest of the deer family, and the 

 American reindeer or caribou (Rangifcr caribou}. All 

 species of the Cervidae have solid horns, more or less 

 branched, which are shed annually. Only the males (ex- 

 cept with the reindeer) have horns. The antelope (Anti- 

 locapra amcricana) (fig. 155) common on the Western 

 plains also sheds its horns, which, however, are not solid 

 and do not break off at the base as in the deer, but are 

 composed of an inner bony core and an outer horny 

 sheath, the outer sheath only being shed. The family 

 Bovidae includes the once abundant buffalo or bison (Bison 

 bison) (frontispiece), the big-horn or Rocky Mountain 

 sheep (Ovis canadensis] (fig. 151), and the strange pure- 

 white Rocky Mountain goat (Oreamnos montanus}. The 

 buffalo was once abundant on the Western plains, travelling 

 in enormous herds. But so relentlessly has this fine animal 

 been hunted for its skin and flesh that it is now practically 

 exterminated (fig. 156). A small herd is still to be found 

 in Yellowstone Park, and a few individuals live in parks 

 and zoological gardens. In all of the Bovidae the horns 

 are simple, hollow, and permanent, each enclosing a 

 bony core. 



The carnivorous mammals (Ferae). The order Ferae 

 includes all those mammals usually called the carnivora, 

 such as the lions, tigers, cats, wolves, dogs, bears, 

 panthers, foxes, weasels, seals, etc. All of them feed 

 chiefly on animal substance and are predatory, pursuing 



