BATS 63 



a large colony had tenanted the place in previous years, Mr. W. J. 

 McCarthy, who was a drug-gist there for many years, told us that he once 

 burned some sulphur in this attic and killed "hundreds of bats." We 

 found the village assembly hall to contain a few Free-tailed Bats crowded 

 into a space about 2 x 4 x 36 inches beside a door casing, and others had 

 evidently roosted along the ridge pole. 



The Masonic Temple had suffered more extensively from the bats. In 

 the low attic of this building were found only a very few individuals. But 

 at some previous time there had been a large population, for guano lay 

 in considerable heaps over the ceiling laths, and bat urine had stained the 

 walls of the room beneath. We were told that "thousands" of bats had 

 lived in this attic and that it had taken ' ' an hour and a half for them to 

 come out in the evening," but these multitudes were not present at the 

 time of our visit. Guano left in the attic of such a building, sheltered from 

 moisture, retains its characteristic odor for many years, therefore it does 

 not give a wholly satisfactory clue as to the recency of bat occupation. 



The two bats taken at Coulterville were both females and each contained 

 one large embryo. 



American Black Bear. Ursus americanus Pallas 



Field characters. — Size large (adults, total length up to 60 inches, height at shoulder 

 up to 40 inches); forefoot squarish (size, up to about 6^/4 by 4 inches), hind foot 

 triangular in outline (total length from heel, up to about 9 inches, width to 4i/^ inches) ; 

 all five toes and claws showing in track of each foot (pi. 22b) ; tail very short, 6 inches 

 or less. Pelage long and heavy, in color either glossy black, or cinnamon brown of 

 varying shades. Voice: Commonly only sniffs or snorts; when badly frightened or 

 wounded, a loud growl or bawl. 



Occurrence. — Eesident on west slope of Sierra Nevada, chiefly in Transition and 

 Canadian zones. Recorded, or reported on good authority, from 3 miles east of Coulter- 

 ville, from near Bagby, and from Bullion Mountain, eastward to Tuolumne Eiver at 

 8000 feet, to McCee Lake, and to Tenaya Lake. Lives on forest floor or about brush 

 thickets, taking shelter in caves, under rock piles, or in hollow trees. Cubs run with 

 mother through first year. 



The Black Bear is the largest carnivorous animal now to be found in 

 the Yosemite region, and, strangely enough, also the one most often seen 

 by visitors to the Park. Indications of its presence, in the form of foot- 

 prints, claw marks on tree trunks, and droppings, are to be seen in many 

 places during the summer and fall months, so that persons who do not 

 succeed in catching sight of the animals themselves are apt to find plain 

 evidence of their presence. In former years the Grizzly Bear, a much 

 larger and more ferocious animal than the subject of the present account, 

 was found in the western part of the Yosemite region ; but as told in the 

 chapter on that species, it became extinct there, at the hand of man, many 

 years ago. 



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