CHAPTER XVI. 
THE GREAT IRISH DEER AND STELLEr’s SEA-COW. 
“ And, above all others, we should protect and hold sacred those types. 
Nature’s masterpieces, which are first singled out for destruction on account 
of their size, or splendour, or rarity, and that false detestable glory which is 
accorded to their most successful slayers. In ancient times the spirit of life 
shone brightest in these ; and when others that shared the earth with them 
were taken by death they were left, being more worthy of perpetuation. Like 
immortal flowers they have drifted down to us on the ocean of time, and their 
strangeness and beauty bring to our imaginations a dream and a picture of 
that unknown world, immeasurably far removed, where inan was not : and 
when they perish, something of the gladness goes out of nature, and the 
sunshine loses something of its brightness.” — W. H. Hudson, in The 
Naturalist in La Plata. 
Among the extinct animals of prehistoric times the “ Great 
Irish Elk,” ^ as it is generally called, deserves special notice, both 
from the enormous size of its antlers, and from the fact that its 
remains are exceedingly plentiful in Ireland. 
This magnificent creature, so well depicted by our artist 
(Plate XXV.), was, however, by no means confined to Ireland; 
its remains are found in many parts of Great Britain, particularly 
in cave deposits, and also on the Continent. Some writers think 
that it was contemporary with men in Ireland ; it may have been 
so, but at present the question cannot be considered as proved. 
Mr. R. J. Ussher, who found its remains in a cave near Cappagh, 
Cappoquin, thinks he has obtained evidence to show that it was 
^ The term “Elk” is misleading, for it is not an elk {alecs') at all, but a 
true Cervus (stag). It should be called “ the Great Irish Deer.” 
