CHAPTER XXIV 
THE WAPITI (CERVUS CANADENSIS ) 
I have already advanced the opinion that this 
superb species of deer is nothing more than the 
Cervus elctphus , or red-deer of Europe and Northern 
Asia, upon a larger scale; it exceeds them in a 
wonderful degree, not only in stature, but in the 
immense size of the antlers. A fine stag, when 
about ten or twelve years old, is a magnificent sight 
to any person who takes a pleasure in the study of 
wild animals. The colour is similar to that of the 
red-deer, but the rump is rather a lighter brown. 
I have never actually weighed or measured a 
wapiti, but from my experience in the exact weight 
of other deer of various species, I should say that 
the live weight would be from 900 to 1000 lbs. ; 
the same animal would be 14-^ hands in shoulder 
height. It is found throughout North America, 
but, like other game, it has been so hunted that 
it has almost disappeared from localities where 
formerly it was plentiful, as neither sex has been 
spared in the warfare of extermination. 
This splendid deer was at one time numerous in 
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