Family CERVIDAE 201 



CERVUS CANADENSIS Erxleben 

 Elk Wapiti 



Description. — The elk is the largest member of the deer 

 family ever known to occur in Illinois. It weighs about 650 

 pounds (females smaller than males) and stands nearly 5 feet 

 high at the withers (shoulders). The back and sides of the 

 body are grayish brown, and a large patch on the rump is buff 

 or yellow. An old male may have antlers several feet long and 

 nearly 2 inches in diameter at the base. The branches of antlers 

 are directed forward. The two canines are knoblike, fig. 107/>. 



Former Distribution. — The elk was once found along the 

 wooded streams and in the open woods of Illinois. Some au- 

 thorities believe that it was at home on the prairies also. Ani- 

 mals of this species are gregarious; they gather in large herds 

 in winter, small herds in summer. They browse on twigs and 

 leaves of trees and graze on many different kinds of green plants. 



The elk or wapiti once occurred over most of Illinois. By 

 the early 1800s it was becoming uncommon, and by the mid- 

 1800's it had disappeared from the state. Available Illinois rec- 

 ords for the elk are for Cook County in the northeastern, Kas- 

 kaskia in the southwestern, near Peoria in the central, and near 

 Mount Carmel in the southeastern parts of the state. 



ODOCOILEUS VIRGINIANUS (Zimmermann) 

 White-Tailed Deer Virginia Deer 



Description. — The white-tailed deer, figs. 110 and 111, in 

 Illinois can be confused with no other animal. Its large size, 

 long legs, thick, stubby but conspicuous white tail, and ornate 

 antlers in males distinguish it from other mammals. In winter, 

 the coat is gray or grayish brown, in summer reddish brown. 

 The under parts of the body and the under side of the tail are 

 white. The hoofs are narrow and pointed, and a metatarsal 

 gland, indicated by a tuft of white hairs, is present on the hock. 



The height at the shoulder is 3 to 3}A feet, and the weight 

 ranges from 150 to 300 pounds in males and 100 to 150 pounds 

 in females. 



The skull is large (more than 10 inches in length). A pit is 

 present in the lacrimal bone, and the posterior nares are sep- 

 arated bv the median vomer bone. The male in season is ant- 



