296 



The Living Animals of the World 



in the wild state, being apparently only 

 known in China in the Imperial Park at 

 I'ekin. This deer approaches in size the 

 red deer of Euro})e. The general colouring 

 is greyish brown, white about the eyes, 

 ears, ramp, and under-piarts ; the horns, 

 which lack the brow-tine, are very singular 

 in shape, and measure as much as 32 

 inches in length ; the tail is long, reaching 

 to the hocks ; the gait is " lolloping " and 

 nmle-like. This is a marsh-loving species, 

 and at Woburn Abljey, where specimens 

 are kept, "they may be seen wading far 

 into the lakes and even swimming in 

 the deeper water." 



The American Deer. 



Excepting always the elk, wapiti, 

 and reindeer, which have been already 

 described, the deer of North and South 

 .Vmerica stand quite apart from those 

 of the Old World, and are placed in a 

 genus of their own. Usually the tail is 

 long, and the brow-tine is always wanting. 

 The most familiar species is the common 

 Ameiucan Deei!, of which the Vikuinian 

 or White-tailed Deer is the type. This 

 deer is found in varying forms in both continents, and was regularly hunted by the ancient 

 ^Mexicans with trained pumas. 



The well-known Virginian Deer, found in Eastern North America, and believed to range 

 as far south as Louisiana, stands a trifle over 3 feet in height, and weighs, clean, about 12 stone 

 7 lbs. The coloration is chestnut in summer, bluish grey in winter. Tiie antlers are of good 

 size, and measure as much as 27J, iuches in length. As a sporting animal the white-tailed 

 (leer is not popular. Mr. Clive I'liillipps-Wolley describes him as "an exasperating little beast," 

 [lossessing every (piality which a deer ouglit not to, from the sportsman's point of view. "His 

 haunts are ri\er-liott(jms, in choking, lilinding Ijush, and Ids habits are beastly. No one could 

 ever expect to stalk a white-tail ; if you want to get one, you must crawl." Mr. Selous, in 

 1897, bagged one of these deer somewhat curiously. "He was coming," he writes, "through 

 the scrubby, rather open bush straight towards me in a seiies of great leaps, rising, I think, 

 quite four feet from the ground at every bound. I stood absolutely still, thinking to fire at 

 liiiu just as lie junqied the stream and passed me. However, he came so straight to me that, 

 liad he held his course, he must ha\e jumped on to or over me. But when little more than 

 the width of the stream separated us — when he was certainly not more than ten yards from me — 

 lie either saw (jr winded me, and. witliout a moment's halt, made a prodigious leap sideways. 

 I filed at him when he was in the air, and I believe quite six feet above the ground." 

 The deer, an old buck with a good head, was afterwards picked up dead. In difi'erent parts 

 of America, as far south as Peru and Bolivia, various local races of this deer are to be found. 



True's Deer is a small species, not unlike the Virginian deer, found from South jMexico 

 to Costa lUi-ii. The antlers are "in the form of simple s})ikes directed backwards," and the 

 body-colouring is in summer light chestnut, in winter brownish grey. Little is at present 

 known of this species. 



The ]\Iule-I)EER, found in most parts of North America west of the jMissouri, as far south 



A MULE-DEEK FAWN. 



The large ears, from which the American species takes its name, are noticeable 

 even in the young. 



