The elk has small and shapely legs. It avoids swamps and low ground and likes to frequent mountain parks. It is also a forest animal. Formerly it ranged far out into the western edge of the great plains and it was accustomed in summer to ascend the Rocky Mountains to the very crest of the Continental Divide. To-day, however, it is abundant in one locality only--the Yellowstone National Park and the country immediately surrounding it. Elk are also found in small numbers in Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Montana, Idaho and on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. However, elk are easily bred in confinement, and many good herds have been established in great private game preserves. In addition to these, there are many small herds in private parks. The elk sheds its antlers each year. The antlers of one of the largest males in the New York Zoological Park dropped on March twenty-first nine hours apart. On April 8th each budding antler looked like a big brown tomato. Ten days later the new antlers were about five inches long, thick and stumpy. By May 10th the elk was shedding its hair freely. On June 18th the antlers were at full length. By August 1st the short red summer coat of hair was established, and the antlers were still “in velvet,” The elk then began to rub the velvet from its antlers against the trees. By September 15th the summer coat of the elk herd had been completely shed. On October 1st the entire herd was at its best. All antlers were clean and perfect. The hair of the skin was long, full and rich in color. This is the mating season of the elk when the bulls are aggressive and dangerous. Elk are often very unsuspicious and at times so stupid that hunting them is not so exhilarating a sport as it might seem. BASED ON MATERIAL DRAWN FROM “THE AMERICAN NATURAL HISTORY,” COPYRIGHT 1904, BY WILLIAM T. HORNADAY ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR. VOL. 4. No. 13. SERIAL No. 113 [Illustration: FROM PHOTOGRAPH BY CARL RUNGIUS MOUNTAIN SHEEP] Game Animals of America MOUNTAIN SHEEP Monograph Number One In The Mentor Reading Course The mountain sheep (genus _Ovis_) is a gallant mountaineer. It is a fine, sturdy animal, keen eyed, bold, active and strong, and is always found amid scenery that is grand and inspiring. Its favorite pastures in summer are the treeless slopes above the timber-line; and even in winter, when the raging storms drive the elk and deer down into the valleys, the mountain sheep descends for only a short distance. The mountain sheep is a bold climber. Its legs are robust and strong, and when pursued it can dash down steep declivities in safety. It is very easy to recognize any adult mountain sheep by the massive round curving horns. No wild animals other than wild sheep have circling horns. The largest of specimens of wild sheep are found in Asia. There are six species in America. They are scattered from the northern states of Mexico through the Rocky Mountains, almost to the shore of the Arctic zone.