Page:The Selkirk mountains (1912).djvu/199

Rh BEASTS, BIRDS AND FISH OF THE SELKIRKS.

(Mainly from a Monograph by John Macoun, M.A., F.R.S C, Dominion Naturalist and Botanist.)

Beasts.

Since the coming of the railway with its loud intermittent noises and the consequent invasion of the multitude, the big game of the mountains have retreated to less accessible recesses and heights. When Professor Macoun made his official expedition of 1885, black bears (Ursus Americana) and grizzly (Ursus ferox) were numerous in Rogers Pass and vicinity. The hunter must now seek this valuable mammal in remoter regions and with due heed to the game laws albeit it will be noted by reference to extracts elsewhere in this book, that there is no limit fixed to the number of bears a hunter may bag. The black bear is fond of the roots of skunk cabbage (Lysichiton Kamatschateense) and in Spring he may be found feeding in the valleys where it grows. In summer he frequents the higher slopes where the huckleberry shrub (Vaccinium) is his staple nourishment. The Caribou (Ruiigifer caribou) and Mountain Goat (Haplocerus mountains) roam on their feeding grounds in the alpine meadows above timber line. Adjoining the Upper Columbia, there are certain high pastures frequented by both Goat and Sheep (Ovis montana). Caribou abound in the mountains east of the Beaver Valley, and in the Gold Range, and are found in many of the Selkirk Ranges. These animals delight in the high meadows above the limber where they feed in Summer and Autumn. Within Glacier Park and within all the Government Reserves, hunting any animal or bird whatsoever is forbidden.

The Mule Deer (Cervus macrotis), plentiful on the lower slopes of the Columbia, were once so trustful that anyone might come near them. Now, says Professor Macoun, "it is pitiful to see the change" when the sight of a man sends them flying in fear.

Coming to the smaller mammals, there is the larger Marmot or Whistler (Arctomys Columbianus) whose habitat is about or above timber line among the broken rocks at the base of the high slopes. Among all the denizens of the hills, the Whistlers are best known to visitors who are often startled on the higher trails and alplands by their piercing whistle. Professor Macoun used to answer thinking it a call from his own kind. It sounds exactly like that shrill far-penetrating whistle contrived with various aids by the human boy. The Whistler sleeps all winter in his nest under the rocks. In summer he sits in the sun on a warm rock or wallows in a shallow pool near by. He is an interesting little animal well worth watching, but the watcher must take care to be very still, and had better be on the slopes above. Shortly in the silence "the mountain will be alive with noise and movement," says Professor Macoun.

Two smaller species of marmots are Say's Squirrel (Spermophilus lateralis) the size of a large chipmunk, its head larger and its legs shorter than those of an ordinary squirrel; and Parry's Marmot (Spermophilus Parryii), smaller and of a deep yellowish grey where the other ha« a broad white stripe bordered with brownish black. The Little Chief Hare (Lagomys princeps) is a remarkable little