THE ELK AN ENEMY OF WOLVES AND DOGS. 39 



whether they have antlers or not. They can strike a vicious blow 

 with the front feet; and a strong man, taken unawares, may easily 

 be disabled or even killed by a doe of the common deer. To over- 

 come the tendency to bad temper in deer would require many genera- 

 tions of breeding under domestication. It can not be quickly eradi- 

 cated by petting the animals ; on the contrary, it is usually increased 

 by overfamiliarity. Children and strangers should be excluded from 

 parks and paddocks that contain deer known to be vicious. Special 

 precautions should be taken during the rut and when does have very 

 young fawns. Persons with whom the animals are familiar should 

 be constantly on the alert against surprise. In the rutting season no 

 adult male deer or elk, however mild he may be at other times, should 

 be trusted. 



The remedy for viciousness in the male deer is castration. This 

 makes the animal docile. It is unsafe to keep an uncastrated male 

 elk over 4 years old, except in a strongly fenced inclosure. If the 

 operation is performed when the horns are fully developed, they will 

 be shed at the usual time and a new pair will take their place, but 

 will not fully mature nor lose the velvet. 



Another effect of castration is improvement in the quality of the 

 meat, just as in the production of beef, pork, and mutton. Venison 

 grown in preserves under a system in which all the male animals 

 intended for slaughter are castrated should be uniformly of the 

 highest quality, far superior to that obtained in the wild state during 

 the usual open season for hunting, which comes during the rut or soon 

 after. This is of great importance in fixing the final status of veni- 

 son grown in private preserves. 



THE ELK AS AN ENEMY OF WOLVES AND DOGS. 



The statement by Mr. Russ in his report on raising the elk in the 

 Ozarks, to the effect that elk are enemies of dogs and wolves, is of 

 more than passing interest. Judge Caton reported a similar ani- 

 mosity of his elk toward dogs, and stated that the does always led 

 in the chase of dogs that got into the elk park. If it is true that 

 these animals when umhampered by deep snow will attack and van- 

 quish dogs and wolves and thus help to protect domestic animals 

 grazing in the same pastures, a knowledge of the fact may prove use- 

 ful to stockmen and especially to sheep growers. It should be of 

 great advantage in changing from a system of herding to the use 

 of fenced pastures for flocks. 



It is doubtful whether the enmity of elk for dogs and wolves ex- 

 tends to the animals outside of fenced pastures. Ex-President Roose- 

 velt in Outdoor Pastimes of an American Hunter reports having 

 seen a coyote walking unnoticed among a herd of elk in Yellow- 



