314 



THE OLD-WORLD ELK 



barked till they were hoarse, he merely went 

 slowly from one to another with lowered head, 

 and sniffed, but never ran away. 



At three years of age, in 1873, the elk was larger 

 than his mother, and in good health, but with 

 inferior development of antlers. He continued 

 tame, was fond of being combed on the breast 

 and belly, but would not suffer much handling of 

 his back.^^ He was fond of human society, and in 

 the fall, with a pair of Newfoundland dogs, and 

 sometimes a couple of bird dogs, would accompany 

 the family when out for a walk. The party would 

 frequently walk three versts (about two miles) 

 to make a call, the animals remaining at the gate. 

 The elk on such trips would never leave the party. 

 The elk's antlers had only 2+1 points in 1873, 

 and 2+2 in 1874. 



The writer tells little of the elk's later years. A 

 change of residence compelled the owner to part 

 with him in September, 1884. The animal was 

 then 14 years old. He subsequently found a 

 home in the zoological garden at Moscow, but it is 



Munster wrote in 1554 that elk could not be made to carry a load 

 on the back ("wee possunt quicquam ferre in dorso"), and other writers 

 have described the elk crouching on his haunches to free himself from 

 the burden of a rider. On the other hand, Baron von Kapherr says 

 that his cousin could mount and ride a tame bull elk without objection 

 on the part of the latter, but any attempt to fasten a saddle on his 

 back by a girth met violent resistance. 



