ae 
THE SCANDINAVIAN ELK. 
Written and Illustrated with Photographs by JoHANNES MapsENn, of Copenhagen. 
VHE night train for Norway leaving Copenhagen at 10 p.m., after passing the next 
morning the renowned waterfall called Trollhattan, traverses the southern part of 
Sweden, through large pine forests and across big moors. 
It is there the Hlk feels at home, protected by a stringent law, according to which 
elk-shooting is only allowed for fourteen days in the month of October. 
Hspecially during the spring and summer, elk range right up towards the polar 
circle, through the northern parts of Sweden and Norway. 
The writer of these lines had been up to Christiania, the capital of Norway, to 
see Captain Sverdrup and to take photographs of his white wolves.» He was then told 
that occasionally during the winter elk may be seen walking into Christiania, and even 
strolling about the streets; although he himself never witnessed such a scene during 
his visit. 
Thinking it would be interesting to take pictures of the Scandinavian elk in its 
home, on my return to Copenhagen I stopped at Goteborg (Gothenburg). 
It was on a fine, clear, frosty morning in January last when, with my camera, I 
entered a wood of firs and pines in search of elk. In this wood some deer are kept 
in an inclosure. Coming close up to the deer-park I found some young elk, and was 
told that one of these was very tame. This I found to be perfectly true, for as soon 
as the elk became aware of my presence one of them ran close behind me, and 
somewhat surprised me by putting its tongue to my camera. 
Just then a large old elk came running past very close to me. Knowing the danger 
of coming in contact with an old elk, especially when not prepared for such an encounter, 
I jumped down on the ice of a mountain-lake close by. 
As two young elk were standing on the shore, not venturing to tread on the 
newly-fallen snow which covered the ice, I availed myself of the opportunity of taking 
several pictures. ; 
I could not, however, be satisfied until I could obtain photographs of a larger animal. 
It is rather difficult and sometimes dangerous to get near a full-grown elk, on account 
of the animal’s well-known power of kicking. Elk are known to have killed wolves by 
* These, with an article on those animals, appeared in the previous number of AnrmaL Lirz.—Ep. 
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