THE EXTINCT MAMMALS OF LAKELAND H 



Order UNGULATA. Fam. CERVIDM. 



RED DEER. 



Cervus elaphus, L. 



In prehistoric times the Red Deer of our mountains must 

 have lived as patriarchs in their favourite corries, wandering at 

 their will across the mountains. There is abundant evidence of 

 this in the fine antlers which have been found in peat deposits 

 all over Lakeland, from the borders of Scotland to the moors 

 round Kirkby Lonsdale. The sands of the estuaries, north and 

 south alike, yield remains of magnificent heads, some of which 

 have passed through local auctions as horns of the Irish Elk. 

 Their proportions and beauty far surpass those of the present 

 Martindale Deer, among which 'royal' heads are scarce, and 

 were for a long time entirely absent. The Roman deposits 

 upon which the modern city of Carlisle stands, are full of the 

 horns of Red Deer, such as had been thrown away, usually 

 after a portion had been sawn off for some practical purpose. 

 At the present time it often happens that shed antlers of the 

 Fallow Deer of Levens find their way into the sands of More- 

 cambe Bay. But a large number of Red Deer in the course of 

 ages perished, torn by Wolves or swept away by some water- 

 spout on the fellside. The ' spates ' which are so common in 

 this region sweep large bodies before them, and doubtless many 

 of the remains of Red Deer found in the sands of our estuaries 

 had travelled a considerable distance before they became im- 

 bedded in their last resting-place. A 'horn' which had been 

 found near St. Bees, and to which local opinion attached some 

 value, was sent to Mr. T. C. Heysham in January 1852. He 

 replied to Dr. Bell on the 24th of February 1852: 'I have 

 now to inform you that Brindle's horn has been carefully 

 examined by competent authorities, as well as compared with 

 specimens in the British Museum, and the result is that it 

 belongs to the Common Red Deer, the Cervus elaphus of Linnseus. 

 The animal must have ceased to exist in the beginning of 

 summer, at all events before its horns had acquired their full 

 growth, portions of the " velvet " being still visible, which is the 



