CERVID^ 47 



"Wapiti" appears to have been the Iroquois name of the ani- 

 mal commonly called the American "Elk." The European Elk 

 is closely related to the American Moose, while t!ie European 

 analogue of the Wapiti Deer is the Red Deer or Stag; hence 

 "Elk" is misapplied as 9 name for the American animal, and 

 Wapiti, as the next best known name, should be used. 



Wapiti prefer forests moderately free of undergrowth, in 

 mountainous or hilly regions. The food is coarse and varied, 

 consisting largely of leaves and twigs. They are good trotters 

 and usually adopt that gait for rapid traveling unless very much 

 hurried, when they break into a fast run. This gait an old 

 fat buck cannot sustain long before coming to bay, but poor or 

 young animals can run a considerable distance. The voice is- 

 high, sharp and forcible, but is only used in defiance or in great 

 alarm. 



Wapiti are somewhat gregarious and are occasionally seen 

 in large herds in the Rocky Mountains. They are polygamous, 

 the strongest bucks gathering a small band of docs in the rut- 

 ting season and driving away weaker rivals. The rutting season 

 cf the eastern species is September and the fawns are dropped 

 about May; probably the same dates hold good for our species. 

 The bucks are tyrannical to the members of their harem. Twins 

 are infrequent. The venison of Wapiti is not as tender as that 

 of the smaller Deer, but it is very nutritious. It is very dif- 

 ficult to preserve. Still hunting om foot is the usual method of 

 hunting Wapiti, and in northwestern California this is practically 

 the only method available. 



Cervus nannodes Merriam. (Small.) 



CALIFORNIA WAPITI. 



Size small; legs short; coloration pale; head, neck ancTi 

 shoulders grizzled grayish brown ; back and flanks varying frorra 

 buffy gray to grizzled bufify whitish; front of legs and feet light 

 tawny; rump patch white, small and narrow. 



