58 POINT LOBOS RESERVE 



population-rej^ulatinfj: factor of "reat sijiuificanee in long-time processes 

 is the presence of predators such as the barn owl. 



The extent of the ground workings of a pocket gopher is shown by counts 

 made on an area 3 paces long by 2 J paces wide, where there were 64 erup- 

 tions — fresh ones since the last rain. These varied from mounds of normally 

 large size down to holes plugged level with the surface, where stems of 

 grass had been trimmed off above ground. This was evidently all the work 

 of one gopher. 



Harvest Mouse 



The harvest mouse is one of the most numerous rodents in the Reserve. 

 These mice are abundant in late summer and fall in all the types of 

 grassland, even on the most recently grass-covered ground. In summer 

 and fall they may be found in the pine woods, especially where the floor 

 is covered with grass; and pine needles, sections of logs, and remains of 

 stumps provide refuge places for them. The bush-covered slopes of Vierras 

 Knoll are well populated with these mice. 



Their nests are globular in form, the top well above the ground. The 

 nests are nearly always well-concealed from above with a loose thatching 

 of grasses and brush. 



Meadow Mouse 



In mats of dead grass and other plant material, meadow mice make a 

 network of runways, which, during the year, extend to nearly every sec- 

 tion of the Reserve. They are present in great numbers, not only in the 

 grassland, but throughout the brushland habitat and a great many are 

 present on the floor of the pine woods. Several kinds of hawks fly back 

 and forth across the meadow mouse colonies, obviously watching for op- 

 portunities to pounce upon these mice, which are to be caught at almost 

 any time because they work both during daylight hours and at night. In 

 fact, the marked increase in numbers of hawks on the area through the 

 summer can be attributed largely to the increase in the numbers of these 

 mammals. 



Other Noteworthy Mammals 



Numerous tracks of coons have been found on the sand at Gibson Beach, 

 indicating that they have gone all over the beach and especially to the 

 drift masses of kelp and edges of rocks along the tide line. 



Striped skunks live in the Reserve in some numbers. 



Only a few jackrabbits, easily identified as they race along, doubling 

 back on their tracks, leaping over bushes, are permanent residents here. 

 More brush rabbits than jackrabbits live here, but they are hard to detect 

 in the thickets. They cannot accommodate themselves to strong sunlight 

 and are rarely seen even in moderate shade. 



The presence of wood rats in the Reserve is chiefly revealed by their 

 nests, found in the pine woods, mostly among the live oaks -there, but also 

 in thickets of Ceanothus and poison oak, and among the cypresses. These 

 nests are built of soft materials such as leaves and grass, but they are 

 piled over with coarse sticks, twigs and leaves, sometimes to a height of 

 several feet. The nests then resemble a dead bush under growing: bushes. 



