-Ti.^ 



In an Alaska Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit mink study, John Burns, graduate student, also learned about 

 Eskimo life in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta area. Above left is a typical trapper's camp. The dwelling consists of 

 a willow log frame, grass and square-cut sods from the surrounding tundra. To the right a "taluyak" (wire 

 mink trap) is being set in a stream covered by ice. The "taluyak" and rifle are the major means of taking 

 mink in this area. (Photos by John Burns.) 



Examination of black bear droppings 

 collected in the Whitefish Range in north- 

 western Montana revealed that plant mate- 

 rial occurred in essentially all of the 

 scats, insects in 45,3 percent, mammals in 

 5.0 percent, and birds in 0.4 percent. 

 In terms of volume, animal material formed 

 a very minor part of the fecal remains. 



In Colorado, continued measurement of 

 the effects of weather on mule deer be- 

 havior by Unit personnel has begun to reveal 

 certain patterns and the reasons for these 

 patterns. It is increasingly evident that deer 

 are creatures of habit and, in the absence 

 of hunting or other violent disturbance, can 

 be depended upon to respond in a given way 

 to given stimuli. Thus, mule deer use the 

 upper and lower edges of heavily timbered 

 areas more than the interior; they tend to 

 travel along wooded draws in going up and 

 down mountain slopes; they feed during 

 periods of comparatively low wind turbu- 

 lence, whether day or night; and they bed 

 down on clear days in winter, in coniferous 

 tiiTiber or behind rock outcrops, nearly 

 always on a southerly exposure. 



The mule deer on Wildhorse Island, 

 Montana, probably represent a typical ex- 

 ample of an unhunted population on a re- 

 stricted range. This population, estimated 

 at between 400 and 500 animals in 1954, 

 dropped to an estimated 150-200 in 1961. 

 Poaching and movement from the Island are 

 both considered to be insignificant. Natural 

 mortality appears to be exceeding the num- 

 ber of young animals brought into the 

 population. This is an old-age population 

 with a sex ratio of about 113 bucks to 100 

 does. 



Typical classification of 100 mule deer 

 on the Island in October would be some- 

 thing like 36 bucks, 32 does, and 32 fawns; 

 while in May it normally would have changed 

 to 47 bucks, 41 does, and 12 fawns. These 

 sex and age ratios are a sximmary of 

 classified counts made over a 3-year period. 



Iowa Unit studies indicate that the State's 

 white-tailed deer are favored with an ade- 

 quate supply of good food, and reproductive 

 success is high. This is verified by the fact 

 that 20 fawns available for examination after 



15 



