260 N O R T H E R N ZOOLOGY.
D E S C R IP T IO N
O f a f em a le sp e c im e n , k ille d F e b r u a r y , 1 8 2 7 , a n d p r e s e n te d b y tb e H u d so n ’s B a y C om p a n y to th e Zo ological
M u s e um .— N o te d a s fu ll-g row n .
Form, elegant ; limbs, very slender. Lachrymal opening apparently only a small fold
in the skin close to the eye. Head and back fawn-colour, mixed with black * sides
and cheeks paler ; ears edged with dusky-brown ; chin and throat white ; the tail is
fawn-coloured, inclining to rusty above, and pure'white underneath and at the tip ; hoofs,
small and neat.
Dimensions.
L e n g th o f b a c k ,
. Feet.
. '. 3. 0
„ n e c k . , . 1 1
„ h e a d . . 0 11
a n d b o d y . 5 0
L e n g th o f t a il
„ w i th f u r
H e ig h t o f th e e a rs
F e e t. In c h e s .
. 0 9
1; 1
, 0 5
This is the smallest deer known in the fur countries, its weight falling short of
that of the Barren-ground caribou.
Mr. Douglas brought home the horns of a full grown male. They have a close
resemblance in form to the horns of the Cervus virginianus. The main stem
rises at right angles to the facial line, and gives out near its base an erect, thick,,
conical snag; above this the horn makes a regular curve, nearly in a horizontal
direction forwards, outwards, and at the extreme tip, a little inwards towards its
fellow; two tapering erect antlers spring at right angles from the horizontal part:
of the main stem. The distance from the base of the horn to the tip of the snag
or first antler is four inches ; from the same place to the tip of the second antler,
which springs from where the horn takes a horizontal direction, is ten inches,:
being the whole height of the horns; from the base to the tip of the third antler
is also ten inches; and from the same place to the extreme tip of the horn, the
distance, owing to the curvature of the main beam, is only eight inches. Th'e
lengths of the second and third antlers are respectively four and three inches.
The distance from the tip of the first antler to that of its fellow on the other horn,
is five inches; between the tips of the second antlers, thirteen inches; between
the tips of the third antlers, sixteen inches; and between the extreme tips of each
horn, twelve inches. Mr. Douglas describes the colour of the upper parts of the
animal in summer as reddish-brown, which changes to a light gray in winter.
I received from Penetanguishene, on Lake Huron, the skin of a very young
deer, which is of a dark yellowish-brown colour on the upper parts, interspersed
with white round spots from the size of a pea to that of a small marble. On each
side of the spine the spots are arranged in a pretty close even row, and on the