98 ANIMAL LIFE IN TEE TOSEMITE 



times only flesh is eaten, sometimes the internal organs are partly devoured. 

 In one winter the carcasses of 20 deer killed by lions were found in a 

 limited area near Wawona. Four were seen on one day in an area a 

 half-mile square. 



Assuming that each lion kills on the average one deer a week, a total of 

 1250 deer a year are killed in the Park. Does have one or two fawns at 

 birth so that about 800 does would be required to provide the annual supply 

 of venison for these lions. As there are deaths among the deer from other 

 causes, the total population of breeding does in the Park must be well 

 above the number mentioned to hold the deer population at its present 

 numbers. The ratio between males and females in the Mule Deer we do 

 not know. An estimate of the total deer population is not possible with 

 the data at hand ; but there is no indication of decrease during the past 

 six or. seven years. We seem safe in assuming that during this period the 

 lions present have not levied upon the deer population in excess of the 

 deer's recuperative powers. 



Smaller game is resorted to at times by Mountain Lions. One resident 

 near Smith Creek told of seeing a young lion killing a ground squirrel. 

 An instance of a lion in the Yosemite section feeding upon skunk has 

 already been reported in print by Mr. Donald D. McLean {California Fish 

 and Game, vol. 3, 1917, p. 39). The circumstances of capturing this lion 

 were later recounted to the senior author in person by Mr. John L. McLean, 

 as follows : 



On November 8, 1916, Mr. McLean, senior, was riding on horseback 

 along the road about 8 miles east of Coulterville. His shepherd dog was 

 scouting along the adjacent sidehill through the manzanita and ceanothus 

 brush. At one place there was a strong odor of skunk, and shortly the 

 dog began to bark in tones which indicated that he had treed something. 

 Mr. McLean rode to the spot and found up in a golden oak what he at first 

 thought was a bob-cat. Parenthetically, it may be stated that both of the 

 cats {Lynx and Felis) in this region, when seeking safety, climb into golden 

 oaks, probably because the dense foliage of these trees affords better shelter 

 than does that of other trees. Presently Mr. McLean saw a long tail hang- 

 ing below a limb and realized that the animal was a Mountain Lion. 

 Promptly he shot it, the rifle ball passing through the lion's neck. The 

 animal "smelled poM'erfully" of skunk, and later its stomach was found 

 to contain flesh, skin, and black-and-white hair of a striped skunk. This 

 item of food may have been chosen in extremity, though this lion was fat. 

 It measured 5 feet 2 inches in length and weighed 371/0 pounds. 



