MAMMALS OF YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK 



101 



ders of the hunter, sheepherder and 

 miner. They are now all gone. 



Grinnell and Storer give the 1870's 

 as the latest period when bighorns were 

 here, except for stragglers. A few scat- 

 tered records exist as late as the turn 

 of the century. 



Mountaineers still find horn cases and 

 skulls on the ridges and peaks of the 

 crest. Such locality records are carefully 

 kept at the Yosemite Museum, for they 

 will help to reconstruct the former range 

 of the bighorn. Accordingly, persons 

 finding skull or horns in the park are 

 requested to bring them to the Yosem- 

 ite Museum. Careful note should be made 

 as to the exact location. Mark it on a 



topographic map if possible. Even with- 

 out the specimen, an accurate record of 

 the locality will be of service. 



The Yosemite Museum has on display 

 the mummified body of a bighorn found 

 on the surface of the east lobe of the 

 Mt. Lyell glacier in 193 3. Evidence in- 

 dicates that it fell into the bergschrund 

 at the head of the glacier and was car- 

 ried in the ice for several centuries until 

 it melted out, 1,936 feet away. 



Bighorns still live in the high coun- 

 try of Sequoia-Kings Canyon National 

 Parks. It is to be hoped that protection 

 there will continue to be successful so 

 that they will always be a living part 

 of the Sierran fauna. 



HOW TO ENJOY THE MAMMALS OF THE PARK 



Any reader who has come this far in 

 our account must be interested in ob- 

 serving the mammals described. A num- 

 ber of them can be seen and enjoyed 

 by the visitor who seeks them in a 

 proper fashion. Animals that have never 

 known trap or gun are relatively un- 

 afraid of humans. For the bighorn, pro- 

 tection came too late. Some forms are 

 quite rare. Many are difficult to identify 

 in the field. Others are abroad mainly 

 at night. Still others are rarely surprised 

 above ground. However, cultivating the 

 "seeing eye," being alert as you travel 

 the roads and trails, will prove reward- 

 ing. 



A little, furry ball scurries across the 

 road in front of the car. Is it a meadow 

 mouse, or a whitefoot? Perhaps a shrew? 

 By process of elimination, often a de- 

 termination can be made. At night, a 

 larger mammal may dash across the road, 

 then stop and look back. At such times 

 a spotlight or flashlight will be of great 

 value, if the car can safely be stopped 

 (no close following car, a clear road, 

 not on a curve) and backed up in time. 

 Certain mammals, notably coyotes, may 

 get off the road before the car comes 



along, and uatch from along the shoul- 

 der. 



Whether travelling by car or on the 

 trail, school yourself to note the slight- 

 est sign of movement in the country 

 about you. Travel on the trails as quietly 

 as possible. For a rest, or lunch, select 

 an inconspicuous spot and be quiet. 



If a mammal is running away, oft- 

 times it can be stopped or slowed by a 

 sharp whistle or loud smacking of the 

 lips. You may often have a better look 

 at an animal that you have discovered 

 at work, if you continue casually on 

 your course right past it, as though you 

 have no intentions of stopping or mo- 

 lesting it. 



If you intend to take a photograph, 

 get your camera set when well away 

 from the spot, then, as you walk past, 

 take the picture, almost without inter- 

 rupting your course. There is also the 

 obvious pleasure in simply watching with 

 stony patience a den or burrow that you 

 know is occupied until the owner comes 

 forth. 



To see the most mammals, get away 

 from people. For example, in Yosemite 



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