For the first couple of months of its life the fawn wears a soft and
woolly coat. An example was furnished by a male fawn (No. 1095; fig. 23)
of September 7, which must have been born several weeks later than the
average date. It was actually smaller and less developed than another
male fawn collected on August 20. It was molting into the next pelage
(described in the following paragraph), and its hide was unprime. The
general color is Deep Brownish Drab; this is overlaid with longer hairs
of Pale Olive-Buff on the median dorsal line of the neck, on the venter,
and on part of the legs; a median stripe on the back near Hay’s Brown;
no distinct lateral stripe; ears and posterior crown Cartridge Buff;
forepart of crown Deep Brownish Drab; area above eye Cream-Buff; snout
varying from Deep Brownish Drab above to Pale Gull Gray on sides;
transverse band behind nostrils Dusky Brown; tip of snout whitish; tail
Deep Brownish Drab above, pale creamy on sides, and white beneath;
rump-patch whitish; chin anteriorly whitish, posteriorly Dusky Drab;
throat whitish to Pale Gull Gray; lower part of legs, in front, Buffy
Brown; hoofs black, bordered above with a very narrow (¼-inch) strip of
whitish hairs. A very similar young fawn, taken on August 2, 1907, has
been described by Seton (1929, +3+: 98).
In a male fawn (No. 1072) collected on August 20 the general color is
between Olive-Brown and Natal Brown; a paler longitudinal area
separating the lateral stripe from the dorsal area; ears Clove Brown
externally, pale creamy internally; transverse band behind nostrils
Blackish Brown; tip of snout whitish; sides of head varying from
Cream-Buff above eyes to Cartridge Buff below; tail Bone Brown above,
white below; rump-patch whitish; legs Buffy Brown, darker in front; chin
anteriorly whitish, posteriorly Hair Brown; throat Cartridge Buff;
venter Light Drab; hoofs black, bordered above with a narrow (¼- to
½-inch) strip of whitish hairs.
_References._--Franklin, 1823: 240-241; Richardson, 1829: 242;
B. R. Ross, 1861: 439; Schwatka, 1885: 60-61; J. B. Tyrrell,
1892: 128; Russell, 1898: 91, 226; J. W. Tyrrell, 1908 (1898):
79; A. J. Stone, 1900: 52; Hanbury, 1904: 194; MacFarlane, 1905:
682-683; Blanchet, 1925: 33, and 1926b: 47; Seton, 1929, +3+:
98-99, 104; Critchell-Bullock, 1930: 193; Jacobi, 1931: 236;
Sutton and Hamilton, 1932: 81, 84-86; Murie, 1939: 244; Clarke,
1940: 89, 90; Downes, 1943: 226; Manning, 1943a: 53; Harper,
1949: 228, 229, 230; Banfield, 1951a: 15-17.
_Albinism_
In _Rangifer arcticus arcticus_ this appears to be an exceptionally rare
phenomenon. There are references to albinos by the following authors:
Russell (1895: 51; 1898: 91, 226), Whitney (1896: 237), Boas (1901: 150,
501), MacFarlane (1905: 682-683), Ingstad (1933: 312), and Degerbøl
(1935: 49, 51).
_Foot-glands_
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account