NORTH AMERICAN RUMINANTS 



The Elk, or Wapiti Deer, is one of the largest and most stately 

 of the Deer tribe, with very large, branching antlers and a mag- 

 nificent pose. This animal formerly ranged eastward 

 ' °f nearly or quite to the Atlantic coast of the Middle 

 States, but now it practically is extinct east of the 

 Rocky Mountains and is becoming greatly reduced in numbers 

 throughout the western natural parks and valleys, where not 

 many years ago it roamed in large bands. This type of Deer 

 formerly extended southward to the northern border of Mexico, 

 occupying isolated areas wherever the conditions of the country 

 favored its existence. The eastern form probably differed con- 

 siderably from the animal of the plains and Rocky Mountain 

 region, but how and to what extent it was distinct will never be 

 determined, owing to the entire absence from our museums of 

 specimens from the eastern part of the United States. 



A darker western form, known as the Roosevelt Elk, is still 

 found in small numbers in the coast ranges of Oregon, Washing- 

 ton and British Columbia. It is much darker in color, 



ooseve an< ^ differs somewhat in the character of the antlers 

 Elk. 



from the Rocky Mountain form. A southern form, 



almost extinct, has been described recently from Arizona, which 



differs from the others in color and in the form of the antlers. 



Of the Rocky Mountain Wapiti, the Museum has several poor 



mounted specimens, a mounted skeleton and several specimens in 



the study collection, mostly animals which had been in captivity 



and which have been received from zoological gardens. Of the 



Roosevelt Elk, the Museum recently has purchased a series of 



five specimens for mounting as a group, but the Arizona form is 



represented by a single skull. It is very desirable that the 



mounted specimens should be replaced by better examples, and 



the Arizona Elk obtained, if possible. 



The Moose, perhaps the largest of the Deer tribe, being heavier 



bodied than the Elk, but with less branching though much 



broader antlers, is found from northern New England, 

 Moose. . 



northern Minnesota and Montana northward nearly 



to the Arctic regions. The Moose of the eastern districts is 



already represented in the Museum by a group of specimens, ob- 



