Page:Polar Exploration - Bruce - 1911.djvu/125

Rh to use strychnine and other poisons, and thus decimating not only reindeer but also bears, foxes, birds, and other animals, and transforming fertile Spitsbergen into a barren cemetery.

It is impossible to describe the Arctic mammals species by species, and it is indeed difficult to know where to draw the line. The elk or moose (Alces machlis) ranges north of the Arctic circle, and has to withstand Arctic conditions of weather, but it is a forest animal, and along with a host of other mammals may be regarded as subarctic rather than Arctic. The Arctic hare (Lepus timidus), on the other hand, is a mammal that penetrates the northernmost of Arctic lands, being widespread over the Canadian Arctic Archipelago up to 83° N. latitude. It is very widely distributed over northern Europe and Asia, extending from Ireland to Japan. It is common in Scotland, where it is known as the blue or mountain hare.

Wolves (Canis lupus) are common all over the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and Greenland, as well as foxes, of which there are many varieties. The silver or black fox (Canis vulpes) is said to be a variety of the ordinary British fox, and is almost the most valuable of all foxes. It is entirely black except the tip of the tail, which is usually white. The silvery lustre is due to grey rings which usually mark the black hairs on the head, the hinder half