284 Field Columbian Museum — Zoology, Vol. III. 



in the lower slopes of the San Bernardino Range near Morongo 

 Pass and Burn's Canon, they are said to occur sparingly. Formerly 

 they descended the valley of the Mohave River as low as Oro 

 Grande." 



fam. antilocaprid:k. 



AN TILOCAPKA. 



Antilocapra americana. 



Antilocapra americana Ord, Guth., Geog., 2d Amer. ed., 11, 

 p. 292. Elliot, Syn. X. Amer. Mamm., 1901, p. 43. 



2 Specimens 6 ? : Antelope Valley, near eastern base of the 

 Tehachapi Mountains. 



A herd of thirty was found in the western end of Antelope 

 Yallev, near the eastern base of the Tehachapi Mountains, on 

 the western border of the Mohave Desert. This band is the 

 remnant of the hundreds that recently inhabited this arm of the 

 desert. The central sandy portion of the valley is covered by a 

 heavv forest of tree-yuccas, which is flanked by an open adobe 

 plain supporting a scanty growth of bunch-grass and alrilerea, 

 to the bases of the bordering hills and mountains. Upon this 

 open plain the antelope are always to be found in a compact 

 herd. Occasionally they go to the mouths of the canons for 

 water, or wander out into the edge of the yucca forest. As 

 they are now protected by law, the}" have become quite tame 

 and would increase rapidly, were it not for the destruction of 

 the young by coyotes, which harass the band constantly. While 

 stalking this herd several coyotes were observed following the 

 antelope and a few of the old bucks were seen pursuing one, 

 attempting to disable it by striking it with the fore feet. A 

 fawn seen in captivity at one of the ranches had been rescued 

 from the attacks of two coyotes that had cut it out from the 

 main herd and had almost succeeded in running it down. Formerly 

 when antelope were abundant, they retired to the small, sheltered 

 valleys among the foothills to winter, and in the spring brought 

 forth their young in such retreats; but the existing herd, on 

 account of its small numbers and the settled condition of the 

 country, is strictly resident on the open plains. Much of the 

 countrv they now inhabit is a cattle ranch fenced by barbed 

 wire, but such barriers do not confine their movements. In 

 passing such obstacles they slip gracefully between the wires. 

 . The voung, which are normally two in number, are dropped 

 early in the spring. The rutting season is evidently in mid- 



