46 I'OrULAR OFFICIAL GUIDE. 



' ' Flag-Tailed Deer, ' ' and ' ' Fan-Tailed Deer. " Although not 

 at all in need of it, qnite recently it has received still an- 

 other name — American Deer. The small deer of Florida, 

 and also of New Mexico and the Southwest, have been 

 described as separate forms ; and if size is to be accepted 

 as a factor in the differentiation of species, the diminutive 

 proportions of the proposed southern species are quite suffi- 

 cient to establish their separate identity. 



The Virginia deer of Virginia and the northern United 

 States is a fine animal — large, strong-limbed, heavily-ant- 

 lered and hardy. Between it and the deer of Florida the 

 difference is as great as that between a setter dog and a mas- 

 tiff. Thanks to the fact that this species is a born skulker 

 and lives only in thick brush and timber, it still holds its 

 own throughout the forest regions of the South generally, 

 Pennsylvania, the Adirondacks, Maine, Michigan, Minne- 

 sota, the Dakotas, Montana, and Colorado. In the "West 

 it is often found inhabiting brushy ravines and river bot- 

 toms. 



This species breeds readil,y in confinement, and when pro- 

 tected in any large tract of brush or timber, increases 

 rapidly. During the months of September, October, and 

 November, the bucks are dangerous and untrustworthy. 

 The peculiar formation of the antlers — three strong, spear- 

 like points thrust straight upward from the beam — makes 

 them dangerous weapons ; and when an ill-tempered buck 

 lowers his chin and drives straight forward with eight 

 sharp spears of solid bone, and nearlj^ three hundred pounds 

 of weight to back them, he may well be considered a dan- 

 gerous animal. He is to be feared less than the elk only 

 because he is smaller. 



The Woodland Caribou, {Rangifcr caribou). — The first 

 hoofed animal to arrive at the Zoological Park was a young 

 female of this species, which was procured in Champlain 

 County, Canada, and forwarded to the Societj^ by one of 

 our members, Mr. George S. Huntington. These animals, 

 when present in the Park, will be kept in a small enclo- 

 sure, because a large range containing an abundance of 

 green grass is fatal to them. 



The wild range of the Woodland Caribou extends from 

 Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Maine, with many wide 

 gaps, to the head waters of the Yukon River, in southern 

 Alaska. The following localities are worthy of special men- 

 tion : northern Quebec and Ontario ; James Bay ; the north- 

 ern end of Lake Winnipeg (occasionally) ; Lake of Woods, 



