While the does have been rearing their young, the bucks have been staging a slow comeback on the ridges above. By early fall their new antlers have hardened, been cleaned of velvet, and polished in the brushy thickets. With restored weapons they again seek company of the does. The season of the rut comes in a time when the bucks are at the peak of vigor and combativeness. Yearlings and weaker bucks are soon outclassed, leaving the most virile and aggressive males to become progenitors of the following year’s fawns. The simplicity of this system is equalled only by its effectiveness. Natural selective breeding is one of the most important items in perpetuation of a species. A decline in numbers of the best breeding animals often results in an inferior strain. In conservation of deer herds it is well to remember that it is not always the _number_ of animals that is the prime consideration. A smaller group of healthy, vigorous individuals is usually more to be desired than a larger population in average condition. Although the species has vanished from many of its haunts in the Prairie States, it will not likely become extinct for a long time. Ranked by many authorities as our foremost game animal, it has been the “guinea pig” in many conservation experiments. Adaptable to almost any environment with suitable shelter and browse factors, it needs only a little protection to become well established. The “key” deer of the Florida Everglades, a tiny animal attaining a weight of only 50 pounds, is, however, on the verge of extinction. Another subspecies, the “Sonora fantail,” native to Mexico and the southwestern United States, is greatly reduced in numbers and seems destined to vanish. Elk _Cervus canadensis_ (Latin: stag or deer, from Canada) Range: Along the Rocky Mountains of the United States and Canada. Also found in central Canada, western Oregon and Washington, central California, and various small areas in those Western States where it has been introduced. [Illustration: Habitat map] Habitat: Wooded places and high sheltered mountain valleys. Description: A very large deer with enormous antlers, a thin neck, and a light rump patch. Total length 80 to 100 inches. Tail 4 to 5 inches. Shoulder height 49 to 59 inches. Average weight 600 to 700 pounds, with a maximum of about 1100. Coat dark in summer, lighter in winter. Longer hair on neck and throat of the bull forms a mane that is distinguishable at some distance. Antlers extremely large, usually six points on adult males. Females do not normally bear antlers. Hooves are black. Young usually one, although twins not rare.