102 



YOSEMITE NATURE NOTES 



Valley, chances are better if you travel 

 the 34 miles of trail than if you stick 

 to the roads. At night, the roads at the 

 extreme upper and lower ends of the 

 Valley are richer "hunting" than the pop- 

 ulous central portion, except perhaps in 

 winter. 



The sounds made by mammals can 

 add to the pleasure of your visit. The 

 calls of the chickaree, the squeaking of 

 bats overhead, the primeval howls of 

 coyotes will give a thrill to those who 

 have come to the park for a change from 

 an urban environment. 



Great satisfaction can also be gained 

 from tracks and other signs, even if their 

 makers are never observed. Part the grass 

 in the meadows and look for runways 

 of small mammals. To find the most 

 signs, go on the trails and keep an eye 

 to the ground. To interpret every sign 

 found requires years of experience and 

 profound knowledge, but certain ele- 



mentary points will help to understand a 

 few things about mammalian signatures: 



1. Know what species belong to the 

 region, what the possibilities are. 



2. Learn some basic track patterns. 

 Mr. Anderson's photo in the margin 

 demonstrates fundamental squirrel pat- 

 tern: large hind feet. Hind feet show 

 direction of travel. This squirrel went 

 from the bottom to the top. When the 

 animal hurries, it swings hind feet past 

 the front, plants them, then takes off 

 with the front ones, and so on. Rabbit 

 resembles squirrel, except that the lat- 

 ter, being a tree climber, travels with 

 front feet nearly parallel, while the 

 bunny, mainly terrestrial, a "runner," 

 staggers the front paws. 



Some mammals "register," nearly or 

 exactly superimposing hind foot marks 

 on those of front, as in the case of coy- 

 ote, wildcat, or fox: 



These are also "singlefooters," making of in pairs alongside each other, as do the 

 an almost straight line of tracks instead bounding weasels, by and large: 



cut by M. V. Hood 



Rabbit tracks. Direction of travel, to the right. 

 Six-inch pencil. 



White-footed mice do this. Usually 

 they leave a tail mark, as the weasels 

 sometimes do in snow. Short tail of mead- 

 ow mouse does not usually show, likewise 

 the shrews, unless snow is proportionately 

 deep. Detailed knowledge must come 

 later, with study and practice. 



3. Detail revealed in a track depends 

 on condition of ground or snow. Do not 

 expect always to find every hair and 

 toenail in tracks as pictured in books. 

 Mrs. Hood's excellent casts represent 



