272 MR. H. PRICHARD ON PATAGONIAN MAMMALS. [Apr, 15, 



5. Field-Notes upon some of the larger Mammals of Pata- 

 gonia, made between September 1900 and June 1901. 

 By Hesketh Peiohard, F.Z.S. 



[Received March 13, 1902.] 



1. The Huemul. {Xenelaphus hisulcus.) 



{Huemul of the Argentines and Chilians ; Ciervo of the Gauchos 

 of Southern Patagonia ; Shoan of the Tehuelches.) 



In the neighbovirhood of Lake Buenos Aires this beautiful 

 deer first came under my observation. On the south side of the 

 valley of the river De los Antiguos I saw a buck (which I shot), 

 two does and a pricket. I was informed by my Gaucho, Humphrey 

 Jones, that the Huemul is found in the woods as far north as the 

 "Welsh Colony of the 16th October about lat. 43^, and that on 

 the south its range extends to the Straits of Magellan. Its 

 present habitat may be broadly said to extend as far east as the 

 foothills of the Andes. Dr. F. P. Moreno states that the Xene- 

 laphus hisulcus has been seen in the hills in the vicinity of Port 

 Desii-e on the Atlantic coast ; I do not, however, think it is any 

 longer to be found there. So far as my personal observations go, 

 I never came across a specimen farther east than a couple of 

 miles from the shores of Lake Buenos Aires upon its north- 

 eastern side. The Lidians say that this animal was at one time 

 more numerous in this region. 



During the summer these deer leave the lower grounds where 

 the mosquitoes trouble them, and travel up to the snow-line of 

 the Coi'dillera and even beyond it. At this season I never 

 observed a large herd ; but in the winter, Mr. Cattle, a pioneer 

 living near Lake Argentine, infoi^med me that a numerous hei'd, 

 over 100 strong, had visited the lake. 



The Huemuls ai-e in the habit of wandering outside the forests 

 in the morning and forenoon, bvit in the afternoon they generally 

 retire to their shelter, where they often lie down. I have found 

 these animals in the dense forests upon the slopes of the Cordillera 

 which border the lakes. They are excellent swimmers, and cross 

 the broad arms of Lake Ai-gentino without hesitation. 



In December the Huemuls which I shot were shedding their 

 winter coat, and I noticed that the bucks were further advanced 

 in this matter than the does. There were a few scraps of velvet 

 clinging to the hoi-ns of one of the bucks which I shot on the 

 17th of December. 



The best head that I secured carried 5 points. Mr. Von Plaaten 

 Hallermund, of the Argentine Boundary Commission, told me 

 that he had seen a Huemul's head carrying 8 points ; this was in 

 the neighbourhood of Lake San Martin. One of my peones, 

 Bernardo Hahansen, who had penetrated into the same district, 

 said he also had seen an 8-pointer. Mr. Cattle and his companions 

 shot two bucks, both of which were 4-pointers. 



