60 POPULAR OFFICIAL GUIDE. 



found from Virginia and New York to Oregon, and from 

 northern Manitoba to the Gulf of Mexico, it is now numer- 

 ous only in and adjacent to the Yellowstone Park, in cen- 

 tral Colorado, where it is well protected, and in western 

 Manitoba. The number of Elk in the National Park is 

 variously estimated at from 10,000 head to a much larger 

 number. 



In a wild state, the Elk feeds on grasses, weeds, and the 

 leaves and twigs of various trees and shrubs. Of all Amer- 

 ican deer, it is the most easy to acclimate and breed in 

 captivity. Large herds are now being maintained and 

 bred in numerous private game preserves in New Hamp- 

 shire, New York, Minnesota, Massachusetts, and elsewhere. 

 About 200 head have been released in the Adirondacks. 



The Mule Deer, (Odocoileus hemionus. — This fine animal 

 is universally known throughout the Rocky Mountain re- 

 gion, which constitutes its home, as the "Black-Tailed Deer." 

 Because of its very large ears, and the absence of a black 

 tail, it is known to naturalists as the Mule Deer. Inasmuch 

 as its tail is not black, the above more common name prop- 

 erly applies to Odocoileus columbianus, the true black-tailed 

 deer of the Pacific coast. In Manitoba this animal is called 

 the "Jumping Deer," because when running at a gallop, it 

 makes a series of stiff -legged jumps, or "bucks," of great 

 length. 



The weight of full-grown bucks ranges from 250 to 300 

 pounds, and specimens have been known to reach 325 

 pounds. The antlers of the Mule Deer are larger and hand- 

 somer than those of the white-tailed deer, and are much 

 better poised on the head. Instead of dropping forward, 

 they partake more of the set of an elk's antlers, and many 

 a "tenderfoot" hunter has mistaken a heavily-antlered 

 Mule Deer for an elk. The antlers of a Mule Deer are 

 easily distinguished from those of the white-tailed species 

 by the two Y-shaped prongs on each antler. It will be re- 

 membered that instead of these, the white-tailed deer antler 

 bears three straight, perpendicular spikes. 



The Mule Deer makes its home in rugged ravines and 

 had lands so common along the creeks and rivers of the 

 Rocky Mountain region, extending well eastward into the 

 plains. Of late years it has been driven out of the most 

 accessible of its former haunts, and forced to take shelter 

 in the rugged fastnesses of the foothills and mountains. 

 West of the Rocky Mountains is was formerly found along 



