3 2 



are left out of the great numbers and variety that formerly 

 existed here. 



In this paper, I have aimed to present a list of the mam- 

 mals which have inhabited Westchester County within his- 

 toric times, with a few notes on their habits and history. 

 The list so far as it pertains to the species now found here, 

 was prepared chiefly from observations made at Hastings- 

 upon-Hudson, about fifteen miles north of New York City, 

 on the east bank of the river; the observations extending 

 over a period of about eighteen years. The nomenclature 

 followed is that adopted in a list of New York mammals by 

 Mr. Gerrit S. Miller, Jr. 10 * 



Several species which are known formerly to have existed 

 in the State have been excluded from the list as there are no 

 actual records from Westchester County. The Moose (Alees 

 americanus) was very common in the Adirondack region of 

 New York during recent times, but the last one of which 

 there is a positive record was killed at Raquet Lake during 

 the summer of 1861 (Merriam 9 , Vol. II, p. 42). The 

 Wapiti or Elk QCervus canadensis) was also probably numer- 

 ous in the county at one time, as it is known to have existed 

 in the Adirondack region, in northwestern Pennsylvania and 

 in the adjoining counties of New York State (DeKay 5 ). ' In 

 Pennsylvania the animal was not exterminated till within the 

 past 40 years ' (Miller 10 , p. 301). That it also existed in the 

 western part of this State as late as 1804, the following pas- 

 sage from a description of the Genesee Country by Robert 

 Munro may be offered as evidence : ' Of wild animals, the 

 most remarkable are bears, wolves, and deer, which abound 

 most in the hilly parts; also elks, a large species of deer 

 weighing five or six hundred pounds, and a few panthers ' 

 (Docum. Hist. 12 Vol. II, p. 1175). Remains of the Wapiti 

 have been found in a shell heap at Throgg's Neck, this 

 County, by Mr. M. R. Harrington. 



* The small numbers refer to papers cited at the end of the present paper. 



