In yesterday's blog post I mentioned the relict elk antler that has been in the small, but important, vertebrate museum of the UC Hopland Research & Extension Center. It is unknown as to when UC-HREC acquired this important piece of natural history, but it was probably donated to the museum by the Pratt Ranch or the nearby Ruddick Ranch.
The hand-written tag on tied onto the antler says, "found about 1907 by Bill Parson & W.S. Graham on Parson's ranch (now Ruddick Ranch), in old creek channel, down 3-4 feet. Found north of existing ranch headquarters".
With almost certainty there have no elk in the southeast corner of Mendocino County for 130 years or more. This antler is most likely that of a tule elk (Cervus elaphus nannodes). The subspecies name nannodes comes from the Greek work nannos which means "dwarf", as the Tule Elk is the smallest subspecies in North America.
