On September 12 Charles Schweder stated that the does would soon be
losing their milk; yet on occasion he has found them with milk as late
as November (_cf._ Jacobi, 1931: 235). On September 21, when he secured
a doe (fig. 21) that was accompanied by a fawn, I asked if he thought
the latter was still nursing. By way of answer, he squeezed a couple of
the doe’s mammae, and some milk exuded. Thus the mammary glands were
still functioning at that date; they appeared well developed. By August
27, at an age of perhaps two and a half months, the fawns were browsing
on their own account, and their teeth were well developed. Fred
Schweder, Jr., then spoke of having seen fawns nursing four times during
that month, the last occasion having been on the 25th. On the 27th I had
the rare privilege of witnessing such a nursery rite across the mouth of
Little River. The wilderness baby was so large that it was obliged to
lower its forequarters very decidedly in order to reach the maternal
font (from a lateral position). This attitude left its hind quarters
thrust high and ludicrously into the air. I did not notice that it
wriggled its tail as a bovine calf might have; but Charles Schweder
spoke of having seen a fawn hold its tail erect while nursing. He also
said that the bigger fawns kneel down with their front legs while so
engaged. In his opinion, when a doe is killed in the autumn, its fawn
does not go and join other Caribou, but lingers near the fatal spot
until a Wolf or some other enemy overcomes it. For this reason it is his
practice to secure the fawn also, if possible, when he takes the mother.
On September 13 a fawn remained by its dead mother, permitting one of
the hunters to approach within 30 feet and to throw rocks at it three
times, finally taking it by that means. After a doe was killed on
September 21, its fawn lingered in the vicinity for a day or two.
_References._--Franklin, 1823: 242; Richardson, “1825”: 329;
John Ross, 1835a: 432; Simpson, 1843: 277, 281, 381; J.
McLean, 1932 (1849): 359; Armstrong, 1857: 477-478; Murray,
1858: 202; Osborn, 1865: 227; Nourse, 1884: 264-265; Pike, 1917
(1892): 204, 209; Dowling, 1893: 107: Russell, 1895: 51; R. M.
Anderson, 1913b: 504-505; Hewitt, 1921: 62; Blanchet, 1926b: 47;
Seton, 1929, +3+: 124-125; Blanchet, 1930: 49, 53;
Critchell-Bullock, 1930: 192, 193; Sutton and Hamilton, 1932:
86; Ingstad, 1933: 161; Clarke, 1940: 88-90; Gavin, 1945: 228;
Banfield, 1951a: 26, 27; Scott, 1951: 179, 180; Barnett, 1954:
96.
_Growth_
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