D MISCELLANEOUS CIRCULAR 36, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



were born in 1923, and there was a gradual increase each succeeding 

 season until the calf crop in 1926 numbered 42 head, making a total 

 of^over 200 head at the end of that year. 



ELK 



In April, 1912, 15 elk were brought to the Wichita Game Preserve 

 from the Jackson Hole, Wyo., herd. There has been a steady and 

 remarkable growth from this original band, and the Wichita elk herd 

 now numbers between 300 and 400 head. It has been decided that the 

 ultimate herd of dk can not be allowed to exceed 400, and steps are 

 being taken to dispose of surplus males each year. 



Fig. 4.— Old Wichita, king of the Wichita elk herd 



DEER 



Virginia or white-tailed deer are native to this section and were 

 plentiful in and around the Wichita Mountains when the country was 

 first opened to settlement. Their number had been greatly reduced 

 when the game preserve was established in 1905, but it is now esti- 

 mated that there are more than 400 within the national-forest bound- 

 aries. Five counties outside and adjoining the forest and game pre- 

 serve maintain a closed season on deer, and the herd is steadily 

 increasing. State game refuges established in 1927 contiguous to 

 the forest afford additional protection not only to deer but to other 

 forms of wild life such as wild turkey, quail, waterfowl, etc. 



ANTELOPE 



In cooperation with the American Bison Society, three attempts 

 have been made to establish an antelope herd within the Wichita 

 Game Preserve. In 1910 the Boone and Crockett Club presented 11 

 antelope to the Government. This little band suffered severely, 

 however, in transit from the Yellowstone Park section where they 

 were obtained. After their arrival at the Wichita Game Preserve 

 they developed serious internal disorders, the exact nature of which 

 it was impossible to determine but which resulted in the gradual 

 destruction of the entire herd. 



