100 



YOSEMITE NATURE NOTES 



Pbolo by Hsrwell 

 Mummified bighorn on the Mt. Lyell Glacier. 



to leave because of the deep snow cov- 

 ering food and making defense against 

 predators difficult or impossible. 



The chief enemy of deer is the moun- 

 tain lion. A lion is said to average a 

 kill of 5 deer a year. Since we probably 

 have not more than a dozen lions, the 

 annual loss from this source would not 

 be more than 600 deer out of the thou- 

 sands that are in the park. The animals 

 taken are usually those most susceptible 

 to attack, the old, the crippled, and the 

 less alert. The predators thus help keep 

 the deer herds "thrifty," except in Yo- 

 semite Vallev where lions seldom come. 



Coyotes, wildcats, and bears also prey 

 on deer, though we have little evidence 

 to prove that they are serious enemies. 

 Coyotes and wildcats will do the most 

 damage when there is extremely heavy 

 or crusted snow, making escape difficult 

 for the deer. Bears may kill a weak or 

 sickly deer, but, as noted above, a spot- 

 ted fawn is the largest native animal 

 they normally kill for food. All three 

 will clean up the remains of a deer 

 killed by other predators when they can 

 find such a "banquet." 



Golden eagles attack spotted fawns 

 when they can find them away from 

 cover. If the doc is present, she may 

 succeed in protecting her young by 

 standing directly over them. At the close 

 approach of the bird, the mother may 

 attempt to strike at it with the forefeet. 



According to Russell, in 1924 and 

 192 J, some 22,000 deer were slaughtered 

 because of the foot and mouth disease 

 epidemic which had affected certain Sier- 

 ran deer. Those thus removed normally 

 had resorted to the northern part of the 

 park in summer, so for some years after- 

 ward dter were scarce in that region. 

 For several seasons a certain number of 

 surplus animals in the valley were cap- 

 tured and released in the sparsely popu- 

 lated area. Whether due to this experi- 

 ment or to natural influx, the northern 

 deer herd is now considered to contain 

 normal numbers. 



Ordinarily, California mule deer eat 

 parts of woody plants, such as leaves, 

 twigs and fruits. However, at certain 

 seasons green grass may form 90 per cent 

 of the food. More than 200 kinds of 

 food have been taken by the different 

 races of mule deer in California. They 

 range in variety from pine needles to 

 acorns. 



Nowhere in the natural diet of deer 

 is anything akin to the food offered to 

 them by park visitors. Feeding deer bread, 

 candy and other human foods causes 

 stomach disease which makes the ani- 

 mals sick and may cause their death. 



Pampering deer which are regularly 

 fed by hand is dangerous. Several people, 

 including rhildren, have been seriously 

 hurt in national parks by the sharp 

 hoove c of does or the antlers of bucks. 

 It is dangerous and unlawful to feed 

 the deer. 



Sierra bighorns once lived in the 

 higher parts of what is now Yosemite 

 National P.uk. However, the park was 

 created too late (1890) to save enough 

 of the "mountain sheep" from the lar- 



