Wapiti 



97 



With regard to this light caudal disk, the same writer observes that it 

 " commences at the top of the hip and extends back so as to embrace the 

 tail ; its outer border descends laterally in a circular form, so that when even 

 with the root of the tail, above that member, it nearly describes a semi- 

 circle ; thence the outer border descends down the ham, gradually drawing 

 inwardly, and contracting the white section, which, however, descends to 

 unite with the lighter shades of the inguinal region. This white portion 

 is bordered by an intensely black stripe, which commences on either side 



Fig. 25. — East American Wapiti. From a male at Woburn Abbey. 

 Photographed by the Duchess of Bedford. 



above the region of the tail and continues down to the posterior sides of the 

 thighs, where it fades out and is lost. The black mark appears on all 

 animals of all ages and both sexes, but is the most brilliant on the male in 

 the prime of life and in the fall of the year." When the summer coat is 

 first assumed, the light caudal disk is straw-coloured, but it gradually fades 

 till in the latter part of the summer it becomes nearly white. Fading also 

 takes place in the winter pelage, which gradually bleaches from the tawny 

 yellow of autumn to a pale dirty white in winter, although there is much 

 individual variation in this respect, scarcely any two animals in a herd being 

 of exactly the same tint. 



o 



