1008.] 



MAMMALS. 



135 



J. W. Tyrrell states that while exploring on the upper Thelon in 

 the summer of 1900, " on two occasions moose antlers were found em- 

 bedded in the sand of the river bank." Hanbury states that moose 

 are found in the main Ark-i-linik, or Thelon, River [below its junc- 

 tion with the Hanbury], and mentions seeing numerous fresh tracks 

 and places where the animals had browsed on the willows.^ In 

 August, 1902, while descending Dease Eiver, northeast of Great Bear 

 Lake, he found tracks along its banks.^ 



MacFarlane states that previous to the establishment of Fort An- 

 derson, in 1861, moose were frequently seen feeding on the high banks 

 of Anderson River, but that they diminished in numbers after that 

 date, though found to the very edge of the wooded country. He 

 observed traces of this animal (evidences of browsing) in the thickets 

 along Wilmot Horton River, near latitude 69°, within the limits of 

 the Barren Grounds.'^ 



Rangifer caribou (Gmel.). Eastern Woodland Caribou. 



Our knowledge regarding the forms of caribou inhabiting the in- 

 terior of British America is very meager, and the following notes 

 relating to woodland caribou are only provisionally included under 

 this name. 



No woodland caribou were seen on either of our trips, but they were 

 ascertained to occur sparingly throughout most of the region. Mr. 

 Brabant, of Fort Smith, informed me that they were unusually com- 

 mon in that vicinity during the winter of 1902-3. Captain Mills, of 

 the steamer Wrigley, told me that he saw one on Slave River near 

 McConnell Island on July 5, 1903. The Dogribs say that a few are 

 found in the country between Fort Rae and Great Bear Lake. Along 

 the lower Liard the animals are occasionally detected in small bands 

 and are often killed. Caribou meat was several times brought in to 

 Fort Simpson during my residence there, but all my efforts to secure 

 a specimen failed. The natives about there distinguish between the 

 wood caribou of the lowlands and of the mountains, and say that the 

 former is smaller and lighter in color than the mountain animal. 

 AVoodland caribou still occur along the Saskatchewan near Edmonton, 

 and W. E. "Wliiteley, who lives on Sandy Creek, 20 miles south of 

 Athabaska Landing, Alberta, stated that he had seen a few in that 

 vicinity. 



The presence of the woodland caribou in this region was first noted 

 by Hearne, who refers to the species as ' Indian deer.' During his 

 journey southward from Coppermine River he saw many in the 



« Ann. Kept. Dept. Interior (Canada) for 1900-1901, p. 122, 1902. 

 ^ Sport and Travel in Nortliland of Canada, p. 40, 1904. 

 ^' Ibid., p. 239, 1904. 



^Proc. U. S. Nat. MnS., XXVIII, p. 677, 1905. See also Can. Kec. Science, 

 IV, pp. 43, 45, 53, 1890. 



