Remains of elk have been found associated with human artifacts on the northern part of the Columbian Plateau. The plateau is poorly suited to elk but a few may have persisted there until late historic time. The remains may have been brought by Indians from northeastern Washington. The remains included teeth and portions of the skull and it seems unlikely that these would have been carried any great distance.
Odocoileus hemionus.—The American deer probably evolved in North America. In this respect they are unlike the elk, moose and caribou, all of which emigrated from Asia to America in the Pleistocene. Odocoileus hemionus and virginianus probably diverged from a common stock in the Pliocene.
The black-tailed deer was probably a member of the Pacific Coastal Fauna at an early time and distinct from the mule deer before the last interglacial cycle. Probably the mule deer lived in the eastern Cascades and on part of the Columbian Plateau in Wisconsin Time. They occur on the plateau in limited numbers at present and their remains have been found associated with human artifacts in the Grand Coulee area.
Odocoileus virginianus.—The white-tailed deer ranges from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from Canada to Mexico. The species was probably abundant in the Pacific Northwest in the Pleistocene, perhaps in Vashon-Wisconsin time, but has since largely given way to the black-tailed and mule deer. The race O. v. leucurus now occupies an extremely small range. The accounts of early naturalists indicate that it was more abundant and had a wider range 100 years ago. Probably leucurus was once an important member of the Pacific Coastal Fauna.
The inland race, ochrourus, is a typical member of the Rocky Mountain Fauna. It and leucurus were probably derived from a common ancestor in the late Pleistocene.
Alce americanus.—The moose occurs in Washington as a casual wanderer from the Rocky Mountain Fauna to the east.
Rangifer montanus.—The caribou occurs in northeastern Washington as a winter migrant from the north. It was probably of more regular and extensive occurrence in the past.
Antilocapra americana.—The antelope probably was a casual wanderer to southeastern Washington and perhaps to the Columbian Plateau from eastern Oregon before white man reached Washington.
Bison bison.—The buffalo, like the antelope, probably occurred in southeastern Washington and on the Columbian Plateau only as a casual wanderer from Oregon in postglacial time.