Elk 



49 



Although, unlike the latter, the present race is normally an inhabitant of 

 open country, during its southern winter migration it enters the forest 

 districts normally tenanted by the woodland caribou. According to Sir 

 J. Richardson, the majority of the males and females herd together 

 separately for the greater part of the year ; in the winter the former retire 

 for some distance into the woods, while the latter linger on the skirts of the 

 barren-grounds and proceed to the neighbourhood of the coast quite early 

 in the spring. Both the woodland and barren -ground races enjoy a 

 plentiful supply of winter provender, since alike in Labrador and the 

 districts farther north the reindeer-moss forms a carpet of a yard in depth, 

 rendering it possible to traverse with ease boulder-clad districts which 

 without this covering would be almost impassable. The pairing-season is 

 stated to be later than that of the woodland race. 



II. Elk — Genus Alces 



Alee, H. Smith, in Griffith's Animal Kingdom, vol. v. p. 303 (1827), as a 

 sub-genus, nec Blumenbach, 1803. 



Alces, Jardine, Naturalist 's Library — Mamm. vol. iii. p. 125 (1835) ; 

 Ogilby, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1836, p. 135 ; Gray, List Mamm. Brit. Mus. p. 182 

 (1843) '•> Fitzinger, SB. Ak. Wien,No\. lxviii. part i. p. 348 (1873), lxix. 

 part i. p. 521 (1874) ; Brooke, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1878, p. 915 ; Riitimeyer, 

 Abh. schweiz. pal. Ges. vol. viii. p. 54 (1881). 



Alcelaphus, Gloger, Handbuch Naturgeschichte, p. 143 (1841), nec de 

 Blainville, 18 16. 



Cervalces, Scott, Proc. Ac. Philadelphia, 1885, p. 181. 



Characters. — Lateral metacarpals as in Rangifer. Antlers present only 

 in the males (as in all the following genera), situated low down on the 

 skull, from which they arise at right angles to the median longitudinal 

 line, extending at first directly outwards in the plane of the forehead, and 

 finally expanding into a broad palmation margined with snags. As shown 

 by immature — especially European — specimens, the antlers are essentially 

 dichotomous, both main branches being palmated, but the upper much 

 superior in size to the lower. Muzzle broad, long, and overhanging, with 

 a very small triangular naked area between the lower angles of the nostrils ; 

 head and limbs very long, neck and body short ; tail very short, main hoofs 



H 



