2 66 FIRST LBSSONS IN ZOOLOGY 



and swallows it aj^ain, but intu anotlicr stoniach-cliamber. 

 From tins it passes through the other two into the intes- 

 tine. 



The (.leer famil}' (Cervida:;) comprises the familiar Vir- 

 ginia or red deer {Oifocoilais anio'icaniis) of the Kastern 

 and Central States and the white-tailed, black-tailed, and 

 mule cleers of the West, the grcat-antlercd elk or wapiti 

 (Ccrviis canadensis), (fig. 2iO), the great moose {Alec 

 amcricana), (fig. 207), largest of the deer family, and the 

 American reindeer or caribou (Rajigifcr caribou). All 

 species of the Cervid:e have solid horns, more or less 

 branched, which are shed annually. Only the males 

 (e.xccpt with the reindeer) have horns. The antelope 

 {Antilocapra aiiici-icana), (fig. 211), common on the West- 

 ern plains, also sheds its horns, \\hich, ho«'ever, are not 

 solid and do not break off at the base as in the deer, but 

 are composed of an inner bony core and an outer horny 

 sheath, the outer sheatli only being shed. The family 

 Bovid.e includes the once abundant buffalo or bison 

 [Bison lusoti), (fig. 212), the big-horn or Rocky Mountain 

 sheep [Ovis canadci/sis), (fig. 206), and the strange pure- 

 white Rocky Mountain goat {Orcaninos montanus). The 

 buffalo was once abundant on the Western, plains, travel- 

 ing in enormous herds. ])Ut so relentlessl}' has this fine 

 animal been hunted for its skin and flesh that it is now 

 practically exterminated (fig. 213). A small herd is still 

 to be found in Yellowstone I'ark, and a few individuals 

 live in parks and zoological gardens. In all of the Bo- 

 vid.'e the horns are simple, hollow, and permanent, each 

 inclosing a bon}' core. 



The carnivorous mammals (Fer«). — The order Fer;v 

 includes all those mannnals usuall)- called the carnivora, 

 such as the lions, tigers, cats, w olves, dogs, bears, panthers, 

 foxes, weasels, seals, etc. y\ll of them {(:k:(.\ chiefix' on 

 anim.d substance and are ])j-edatoi-y, |)ursuing and k-illin"- 



