206 



ANIMAL LIFE IN THE YOSEMITE 



the cones of many of the evergreen trees have attained full or nearly full 

 size but are still green, the chickarees begin their annual harvest. The 

 busy animals gnaw off the cones, and as a person walks through the forest 

 where the squirrels are operating, cones may be seen or heard falling at 

 frequent intervals. In fact there is some danger in being under the trees, 

 especially when the heavy green cones of the Jeffrey pine, weighing several 

 pounds apiece, come down from a height of a hundred feet or so. The 

 cutting is more or less indiscriminate, as cones in all stages of development 

 are cut — those in which seeds are well advanced as well as others in which 

 the seeds are but partly formed. (See figs. 30, 31.) 



After cutting for a while a 

 squirrel will descend to the 

 ground and proceed to dispose of 

 the cones which it has detached. 

 Such cones as are not wanted 

 for immediate use are cached on 

 the ground under the sides of 

 downed tree trunks and in other 

 nooks and crannies in the vicinity 

 of the animal's home. Cones so 

 sheltered do not dry out so 

 rapidly as they would if left out 

 in the open. This is particularly 

 important in the case of the cones 

 of the white and red firs, as these, 

 upon drying, go to pieces quickly 

 and the seeds are scattered. In 

 winter, when snow is on the 

 ground, or in early spring, when 

 other forage material is scarce, 

 these cones which have been in cold storage are dug out and the seeds 

 eaten. 



An idea of the amount of work done by the chickarees in the Yosemite 

 region may be gained from the following counts and estimates. At Aspen 

 Valley, in October, 1915, a chickaree was found to have its headquarters 

 close to our camp. The animal inhabited a group of seven white firs 

 beneath which was a prostrate trunk. Within an area 50 by 50 feet in 

 extent the junior author gathered 484 cones which had been cut down, 

 evidently by this one squirrel (pi. 35a). Most of these had been carried 

 to the side of the log where some had been partially buried in the ground. 

 Others had been put into crevices in nearby trees. In one case a hole in 

 a log about 18 inches deep had been crammed full of the green cones. 



Fig. 30. Sugar pine cones, (a) as cut 

 down green by the Sierra Chickaree, (b) as 

 matured and dropped naturally by the tree, 

 and (c) the green cone core left after a 

 squirrel has cut off the scales and eaten the 

 seeds. 



