* ; 
CERVUS CANADENSIS, (Erx epen). 
THE WAPITI OR AMERICAN ELK. 
Specific Churacter.—Hoofs short, broad and rounded. Tail very short and 
depressed. Larmiers nearly as long as the eye; naked portion of the muzzle in- 
feriorly only half as wide as the septum of the nostrils. No naked glandular 
space on the outer edge of the hind legs, but a short whitish patch of hairs near 
the upper part of the metatarsus. 
In summer, general colour, light chestnut red ; darkesi on the neck and legs ; 
throat and median ventral line dusky, almost black. Chin dusky, with a narrow 
patch of light yellowish on either side, a broad median yellowish patch under the 
head. Rump yellowish white, bordered by a dusky band, which extends down 
the posterior face of the hind legs. Winter colours more gray. 
Habitat.—Virginia, California and northward through Canada. A few are 
still found in Northern Ontario. 
Average Size —Equal to a horse. 
| Average Weight.—500 pounds. 
Average Height.—5i feet at shoulders. 
Average Length.—8 feet. 
Average Value of Skin.—In the raw $4 to $5, or 40c. per pound. 
x The wapiti is fittingly described as “the antlered monarch of the waste,” 
4 and is one of the largest specimens of the deer tribe; not only is he this, but he 
is also the most beautiful and stately animal in all the deer family, and justly 
entitled to hold the first place among the game animals of our continent. 
In size the wapiti is enormous, being as large as a horse, but withal of such 
compact build and faultless form as to attract immediate attention on account of 
his exceeding grace and beauty. The horns are magnificent and of extraordinary 
size, not unfrequently measuring six feet in length, and they are ornamented 
with brow horns, two over each eye, often growing toa length of twenty-four 
inches. 
The other prongs or tines grow toa length of eighteen inches, and graduate 
to fine points as if they had been artificially prepared and polished. 
— The horns sweep gracefully upwards and are peculiar for their uniform regu- 
: larity. Compared to the wapiti, the stag of the Scottish Highlands would be 
— but a dwarf. 
| The wapiti is less vigilant and therefore more easily approached than any 
p other of the deer tribe, and like all the big game in Canada, his species is rapidly 
becoming extinct. 
The wapiti rut in September, and during the early part of that month the 
peculiar whistling of the bull is to be heard. | 
The rutting season is of short duration, and at its close the bulls are run 
down in condition and very thin, but recuperation soon takes place, and by No- 
vember they are fat and in as good condition as ever. 
_ The female brings forth her young towards the end of May, or early in 
June, and retires for this purpose to the woods alone. 
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