INTRODUCTION 



Constituting the highest class of vertebrates, the Mam- 

 malia includes man and all other warm-blooded animals that 

 nourish their young with milk. They are (except the 

 monotremes) viviparous; that is, their young are brought 

 forth alive as distinguished from existence as eggs. In all 

 except the cetaceans the skin is covered with hair, which is 

 the outgrowth of the epidermis only and contains neither 

 blood vessels nor nerves. The class possesses, moreover, 

 these noticeable characters; "mammary glands; the man- 

 dible articulating directly with the squamosal; the ankle 

 joint when present crurotarsal; a chain of small separate 

 ear bones; brain with four optic lobes; a muscular dia- 

 phragm separating the heart and lungs from the abdominal 

 cavity; a left aortic arch only; and red blood corpuscles 

 without nuclei (except in the fetus)." 



Some mammals such as whales, manatees and seals, are 

 aquatic ; the bats are aerial ; but most are either terrestrial 

 or arboreal. A semi-arid, ■ mountainous, inland region like 

 Utah is favorable, to only the terrestrial and aerial forms. 



As probably the highest aim of knowledge is the wel- 

 fare of mankind, the ascertainment of the economic status 

 of our various wild mammals must at all times be of pri- 

 mary importance. As closely related species and even 

 genera may have almost identical food habits, it is deemed 

 advisable to give here a resume under broad groups of the 

 habits of our mammals as they benefit or injure man. 



Of the Ungulata, or hoofed quadrupeds, elk, mule, deer, 

 moose, mountain sheep and prong-horned antelopes, subsist 

 on vegetation gathered in wild, uncultivated regions; and 

 hence are in no sense harmful. When under protective la\js 

 that happy time is reached when the white-tailed deer or 

 even the elk become so tame and numerous that they do eat 

 cultivated crops to some extent (a condition which actually 

 obtains in some of the most thickly populated Eastern 

 states) prompt reimbursement can and should be made by 

 the state legislature. The food value of these animals 

 is so high that the most casual observer should not only 

 appreciate it but also actively engage in encouraging the 

 increase of animals valuable both as fobd and as a con- 

 stant stimulus to that physical recreation which the aver- 

 age American too truly needs. It is certain that if the lead- 

 ership of such men as Dr. William T. Hornaday (the 

 world renowned champion of wild life) is followed and 



