14 CONDITION OF ILK IX JACKSON HOLE, WYOMING. 
5,< 100), at least 48 per cent live to be 3 yours old. If the herd just 
holds its own, the death loss each year would be about 1,200, or one- 
fourth of the calves; 800, or one-fifth of the yearlings; 600, or one- 
lift h of the 2-year-olds; and 2,400 mature animals. Comparison 
of those figures with those of the losses by starvation of the calves 
during the past three seasons shows how rapidly the total number of 
elk must have diminished. 
FEEDING IN WINTER. 
The two winters preceding the past one (1910-11) had been 
unusually disastrous to the elk, and some feeding had been done. 
When it became evident, following the crusting of the deep snowfall 
of early January, that the loss was likely to be unprecedented, the 
legislature was appealed to and promptly made an emergency appro- 
priation. As a result, about the 15th of February the feeding of hay 
was begun on as large a scale as possible. The construction of a large 
dam by the Reclamation Service at the outlet of Jackson Lake had 
created an abnormal demand for hay, and an amount approximately 
equal to the normal excess supply had already been taken out of the 
valley. It was, therefore, possible for the State to procure only 
about 250 tons, and, while this saved large numbers of the animals, 
it was far less than the amount needed. Arrangements were usually 
made to have the hay fed by the person of whom it was purchased, 
a certain amount, varying with the number of animals which could 
be most readily reached, being hauled each day to some point easily 
accessible to them. The elk soon learn the time of feeding and come 
readily to meet the loads. (See Plate V.) It is the custom of most 
of the feeders to drive past a band, and, as the more eager of the 
animals follow the load, the herd is gradually "strung out/' in popular 
phrase : that is, becomes scattered in a long line. The course is then 
retraced or paralleled and the hay is thrown out in small quantities 
at short intervals. This method insures a fair share of hay to most 
of the animals, large and small. The latter part of the afternoon is 
considered the best time for feeding the elk, since they are then 
fortified for the night. One of the results of feeding is that the 
animals become extremely tame, especially when approached only in 
vehicles or on horseback. This familiarity, however, is quickly lost 
when the feeding is discontinued, and within a few weeks those which 
ate freely from the hand of their benefactors become as wild as ever. 
It is supposed by some that the feeding during past years has caused 
the animals to seek the region earlier, and it is a fact that their 
advent in tin 4 autumn of 1910 was sooner than usual, but probably 
this resulted from the weather conditions rather than from the fact 
that they had been fed during the previous winter. 
