78 ANIMAL LIFE IN THE YO SEMITE 



Occurrence. — Eeported from Dry Creek, north of Snelling. No specimen obtained 

 by us in Yosemite section. Inhabits dry uncultivated prairie, living in burrows in the 

 ground. 



The San Joaquin Kit Fox, or ' ' swift, ' ' is an animal of the broad, open 

 San Joaquin Valley, and it reaches the limit of its range at the beginning 

 of the foothills. Only a narrow strip of territory typical of its range was 

 included in our Yosemite section, and we did not succeed in trapping any 

 specimens within it, but residents at both Snelling and Lagrange told us 

 that the animals were formerly to be found in the open country lying 

 between these two towns. Kit Foxes may still exist on parts of the dry 

 rolling lands just below the foothills, for the country there, which has not 

 yet been brought under cultivation, seems specially suited to their require- 

 ments. In other parts of the San Joaquin Valley, which like the Dry Creek 

 region are pastured to cattle but otherwise unchanged by man. Kit Foxes 

 are still to be found. Their requirements are met by the loose sandy soil 

 in which they can make their burrows, and by the abundance of small game 

 such as kangaroo rats, which affect similar situations. 



The Kit Fox is more nearly related to the Red Fox than to the Gray 

 Fox. It has the general form and scheme of marking observed in the 

 former species, but the tip of its bushy tail is black instead of white as 

 is that of the Red Fox, and its coloration generally is paler, more ashy, in 

 tone, in keeping with the general color tone of its chosen environment. 



California Gray Fox. Urocyon cinereoargenteus californicus Mearns 



Field characters. — Form and size suggestive of a small collie dog; tail bushy; head 

 and body 22 to 27 inches (549-690 mm.), tail (without hairs at end) 13 to 16 inches 

 (330-410 mm.), height of ear 2% to 3% inches (68-78 mm.); weight 7 to 10 pounds 

 (3.2-4.5 kilograms). Coloration of body and tail chiefly iron gray; stripe down middle 

 of back and along tail to tip, black; breast, sides of body, and much of legs, rich 

 yellowish brown; chin and middle of belly white. Voice: A sharp bark; captive indi- 

 viduals sometimes make growling sounds. Droppings: Doglike, but smaller, i/^ inch 

 in diameter. 



Occurrence. — Common resident in Upper Sonoran and Transition zones on west slope 

 of Sierra Nevada. Eecorded from Pleasant Valley eastward to floor of Yosemite Valley. 

 Lives chiefly in chaparral. Solitary. 



The California Gray Fox is the predominant carnivorous mammal in 

 the great tracts of chaparral which clothe the western flanks of the Sierra 

 Nevada. While it ranges somewhat outside the brushland, it is as character- 

 istic a member of the fauna there as is the wren-tit or the California 

 Thrasher among birds. 



Indications of the presence of Gray Foxes were observed at every camp 

 which we made in the foothills. Tracks in the dust of roadways, droppings 



