THE ELK 



A peculiar feature of the bull elk is the curious hairy appendage hanging 

 from the throat, known to hunters as the " bell." 



Elk are polygamous, like the majority of the deer tribe ; and in the breeding 

 season the two sexes learn each others' whereabouts by means of a loud "call" or 

 bellowing, which in some districts, at any rate, appears to be uttered by males and 

 females alike. The call can easily be imitated with the aid of a horn or trumpet, 

 and by this means many a fine old bull is lured to his destruction. Elk are adepts 

 in concealing themselves in the thickets to which they resort during the daytime. 



In winter, when they are compelled to subsist on bark and twigs, especially 

 those of the birch, these giant deer experience very hard times ; and in North America 

 a bull and two or three cows often form what is called a "yard" in the forest, by 

 constantly trampling down the snow over a certain area, and thus keeping 

 themselves from being snowed up. The female gives birth to one or two calves at 

 a time, which are even more ungainly-looking than their parents. 



It should be added, that in America the term " elk " is misapplied to the 

 wapiti, while in Ceylon it is bestowed on the sambar deer. 



