THE MOOSE AND WAPITI OF MANITOBA 



A PLEA FOR THEIR PRESERVATION 



little doubt that its range is slowly but 

 steadily contracting. Bach year the 

 number of sportsmen and meat-hunters 

 increases, and consequently the num- 

 ber of moose killed increases accord- 

 ingly. At the present day the bulk of 

 the population in the forest country 

 depends largely upon deer meat for its 

 livelihood, not from necessity but from 

 choice, and many lumber and tie camps 

 provide their men almost exclusively 

 with vension. I know of several large 

 companes who employ men to provide 

 their camps with deer meat throughout 

 the winter and each of these men are 

 accountable for the death of about 

 thirty animals per season. Others kill 

 them for the hides and heads alone, 

 for which they find a ready market in 

 the cities and towns. Naturally this 

 state of affairs cannot always exist, as 

 it will cease with the extermination of 

 the deer in the province and unless the 

 moose and wapiti are protected during 

 the close season they will gradually 

 disappear altogether from our forests. 

 This might be excusable were there no 

 land which the province could afford to 

 give them, but there are large tracts 

 which will never be of real value, and 

 which if the law were properly en- 

 forced, would provide a refuge for 

 them for all time to come. 



The most worthless land we have 

 within our boundaries is the natural 

 home of the moose. Barring winter 

 lumbering, which should not be detri- 

 mental to the animals, the huge, low- 

 lying tracts of muskeg, overgrown 

 with stunted tamarack, spruce and 

 willow offer no commercial industry. 



As I have said before, the moose is 

 m no apparent danger of total extinc- 

 tion, but in the course of time it will 

 most certainly cease to exist in por- 

 ' tions of its present range and while we 

 have space to give i<; in Manitoba, we 

 should put forth every effort to pre- 

 serve it among our big game animals. 



Wapiti Vanishing. 



In comparison to the moose, the wa- 

 piti is in far greater danger of exter- 

 mination. Its range in the province is 

 much more limited comprising a piece 

 of country between Lakes Winnipeg 

 and Manitoba, and the districts of the 

 Riding and Duck mountains. Formerly 

 it was plentiful in southern Manitoba, 

 but with the exception of an occasional 

 straggler, it is seldom seen there now. 

 Each year its range shrinks before the 

 advance of settlement, and the con- 

 stantly increasing number of hunters 

 who pursue it. Between the lakes it 

 is probably making its last stand, and 

 reports from there show that it now 

 occupies a very limited area. Several 

 more years will suffice to kill it off in 

 this district, unless prompt steps are 

 taken to preserve it. In its wilder and 

 more inaccessible range of the Riding 

 and Duck mountains it is reported to 

 be still fairly plentiful, but I have re- 

 cently been informed that it is steadily 

 decreasing in numbers. The number of 

 wapiti existing to-day in Manitoba is 

 probably far smaller than is generally 

 believed. In the Riding Mountains dis- 

 trict lies an extensive tract of wild 

 country splendidly adapted for the wa- 

 piti. It is practically useless for set- 

 tlement, and barring some lumbering 

 it will never be of value to the pro- 

 vince except as a large and magnificent 

 game and timber preserve. Here the 

 moose lives also, as well as smaller 

 deer, and if the people of Manitoba 

 give evidence enough of their support 

 of such a movement it is altogether 

 likely that the provincial government 

 will bring to a successful issue a pro- 

 position now beiore it to establish such 

 a • preserve. 



Tinder present condition's, the wa- 

 piti will disappear, but if we arouse 

 ourselves to the importance of main- 

 tining it in the province, we can do 

 so, and preserve it for all time. All 



