CALIFORNIA PRAIRIE 



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Influents. The antelope was very abundant in the San Joaquin 

 Valley, occurring in herds of two or three thousand; it was also orig- 

 inally numerous in other valleys. As to California, Stephens (1906) 

 says, "Antelopes are found in open treeless regions, very seldom among 

 trees, and never in dense forests. Their food is mostly grasses, seldom 

 twigs or leaves of bushes or trees." The bison and wolf are not known 

 to have been found within historic times in the central and southern 



Fig. 69. — Disclimax of annual Avena and Bromns, produced from California 

 prairie by grazing; San. Fernando Valley. (Photo by Edith Clements.) 



parts of California occupied by the bunch-grass association. The 

 valley coyote (Canis ochropus Esch.) usually hunts in groups of three 

 or four and runs down its prey, which probably consists largely of 

 jack rabbits. It also eats grasshoppers, other insects, and fruit. 



The badger (Taxidea taxus neglecta [Mearns]), according to 

 Stephens, was not abundant in California in 1906, but he referred to 

 its occurrence in open country. Today this subspecies has a distribu- 

 tion in California which conforms to the grassland. The outstanding 

 larger rodents of this association were ground squirrels and jack rab- 

 bits. The latter (Lepus californicus califomicus Gray and richard- 



