Cariacou

Cariacou, or CARJACOU, also called Virginian Deer (Cervus virginianus), a species of deer found in all parts of North America, from Mexico to about 43° N. lat., and from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. It is the species commonly called Deer by the Anglo-Americans. It is smaller and more elegant than the common stag, and measures 3 feet in height at the shoulder. The colour is very variable—light reddish brown in spring, slaty blue in autumn, and dull brown in winter; the belly, throat, chin, and inner parts of the limbs white. The horns of the adult male are of moderate size, bent strongly backward, and then suddenly forward, so as to bring their tips nearly above the nose; they have several snags. The fawn is profusely decked with white spots, arranged in lines, and sometimes running into stripes. The Virginian deer is timid, and domesticated with some difficulty. It is a common form in European zoological gardens, and also in parks. Its palatable flesh used to be one of the chief sources of food-supply to the Indians. The name Cariacou is extended generally to several nearly allied species, found in Mexico, California, &c., and the title Cariacus is sometimes used technically for a subgeneric division of Cervus.