238 ANIMAL LIFE IN THE YO SEMITE 



notably careful of them ; usually they forage in the open where there is 

 less danger of coming in contact with limbs of trees or with other objects. 

 The development of the antlers is rapid; by late May or mid-June they 

 are one-third to one-half longer than the ears though still blunt-ended; 

 by August their growth is complete, and they have become sharp-pointed. 

 The blood supply ceases, the velvet dries, and the deer gets rid of it by 

 rubbing the antlers against trees and shrubs. At this season bucks are 

 often seen with pieces of dried velvet dangling loosely from their antlers. 

 The bucks retain their antlers through the autumnal mating season and 

 until early winter, when they shed them. A buck seen by Mr. C. C. Bull 

 on March 16, 1916, was still carrying its antlers; but this was exceptionally 

 late. 



The number of 'points' or 'tines' on each one of a pair of antlers is 

 commonly thought to be an index to the age of the animal bearing them. 

 Yearling males with simple, unbranched antlers are called 'spike bucks,' 

 while older animals are termed 'two-point bucks,' 'three-point bucks,' and 

 so on, according as each of their antlers bears two, three, or more tines. 

 Very old bucks are said not to have the number of points their years would 

 prescribe. The largest number of points seen by us on any deer in the 

 Yosemite region was six, but Lawrence Souvelewsky reported seeing a 

 seven-point buck in the vicinity of Merced Lake. 



The mating or rutting season occurs chiefly in October. Very little is 

 known about the mating habits of the Mule Deer save that the animals are 

 then very wary. Two does seen in Ten Lakes basin on October 10, and 

 a buck and a doe at Aspen Valley on October 15, were all very wild. By 

 November this wildness has passed and the animals may again be closely 

 approached. Soon after this the bucks shed their antlers. 



The fawns are born about the first of July, but the does keep their 

 charges hidden in the brush for a month or more before permitting them 

 to forage in the open. In 1915 the first one was seen on July 27, and by 

 early August fawns were observed almost daily. Two constitute the usual 

 number although sometimes there is only one and occasionally there are 

 three. By the time they are seen regularly with their mothers the young 

 animals are about one-fourth to one-third grown, and pretty well able to 

 take care of themselves. The fawns run with their mothers through the 

 first year. Early in June we saw many groups comprising a doe and 1, 

 2, or 3 fawns which were about two-thirds grown. By the latter part of 

 the same month the does desert these yearlings in anticipation of the 

 arrival of the next litter. It is a common belief, substantiated by known 

 facts, that fawns which are born at low altitudes remain there throughout 

 their lives, while those born in the mountains migrate up and down every 

 season. 



