Page 186 - Our Vanishing Wild Life

164 OUR VANISHING WILD LIFE
MAP OF THE FORMER AND EXISTING RANGES OF THE AMERICAN ELK From "Life History of Northern Animals," Copyright 1909 by E. T. Seton
At present the mountain goat extends from north-western Montana to the head of Cook Inlet, but it is not found in the interior or in the Yukon valley. Whenever man decides that the species has lived long enough, he can quickly and easily exterminate it. It is one of the most picturesque and interesting wild animals on this continent, and there is not the slightest excuse for shooting it, save as a specimen of natural history. Like the antelope, it is so unique as a natural curiosity that it deserves to be taken out of the ranks of animals that are regularly pursued as game.
The Elk —The story of the progressive extermination of the Ameri- can elk, or wapiti, covers practically the same territory as the tragedy of theAmericanbison—one-thirdofthemainlandofNorthAmerica. The former range of the elk covered absolutely the garden ground of our continent,omittingthearidregion. Itsboundaryextendedfromcentral Massachusetts to northern Georgia, southern Illinois, northern Texas and central New Mexico, central Arizona, the whole Rocky Mountain regionuptothePeaceRiver,andManitoba. Itskippedthearidcountry west of the Rockies, but it embraced practically the whole Pacific slope fromcentralCaliforniatothenorthendofVancouverIsland. Mr.Seton