444 Roosci'cll Wild Life BitUclm 



thralled us, and it made our ride that first day an unforgetable 

 adventure. To even come uixjn one of tlieir heavy antlers while 

 riding the remote wilderness trails gives zest to the trip. The skele- 

 tons of winter-killed moose are occasionally to be seen. Figure 78 

 shows a ranger bringing in a skull and attached antlers of a winter- 

 killed specimen. One frequently finds antlers of moose, elk and 

 deer that have been similarly gnawed by porcupines, pine squirrels 

 or other rodents. 



A great step forward in game conservation will have been made 

 if the Park Service is given charge of the extreme upper headwaters 

 of the Yellowstone River, which are an important part of the moose 

 range and unquestionably belong to the Park topographically. The 

 explorations and the photograpliic studies of moose made by Mr. 

 George Shiras, 3rd, in this general region in 1908 to 1910 (see 

 National Geographic Magacitic, July, 1913, pp. 808-834) indicate 

 the necessity- of eventually adding the Upper Yellowstone basin to 

 the Park to safeguard this superb momitain species. In 1921, 

 A\'yoming permitted fift}- moose to be killed in this nook of 

 territor}', and these fifty moose were \-irtualty taken from Yellow- 

 stone Park. They were killed for no legitimate purpose but to 

 satisfy a few venison-hungry cattlemen. There was no sport con- 

 cerned in shooting them, for they were as tame as cattle. Such 

 moose should be fully protected and allowed to five their natural lives. 

 ThcA- are fair game for the adventurous summer explorer with his 

 camera, and should furnish keen pleasure to hundreds of people 

 annually who travel thousands of miles and spend much money 

 in this region to see a primeval wilderness, rather than fall victims 

 to a few local ranchmen. In 1922 Wyoming again permitted fifty 

 bull moose to be killed, with the result that their cows went unmated 

 and produced no calves, a? the moose i? not polygamous in habit. 



MULE DEER 



Odocoileus hcmiouus (Rafinesque) 



From the standpoint of the Park visitors mule deer are a feature 

 chiefly of ^lammoth Hot Springs. In winter they are absent from 

 nearly all the Park area except the northernmost district which has 

 the lowest valleys ; though ^Ir. Skimier informs me that a few bands 

 winter between the geyser basins and elsewhere on the Park plateau. 

 There are always a few to be observed in the vicinity of Camp Roose- 

 velt and in the country h'ing between there and ]\Iammotli, and 

 tourists sometimes see them in the edges of the forest along the 



